Blood Cakes Poem by Adaobi Chiemelu

The blood, it cakes under the sun
The blood on the soil
When you first hear of blood
Which is it you think of

Blood of goats, blood of humans
From sacrifices, from wars
Wars between worlds
Worlds ridden with fear

Fear oblivious of rhythm
Rhythm emptied of a piece
Peace that thrives in the recesses
Peace that prepares the blood of cows for merriment

The blood of cows do not come up first in our minds
Because that is not where our fear lies
And like nylon upon a sea bed
It is thoughts about ourselves and others closest to ourselves that floats lightest

It is the flies that hover around the blood that cakes under the sun
That reminds us of the peace we do crave from recesses deeper than our piece of flesh
But these blood cakes remind us that now
Blood spilling is a thing of the past and a history for the future

Be careful what you make history
It may haunt you down
Like the gossip of the flies as they hover over the blood on the soil
That cakes under the sun