Mistaken Identity Poem by David Oladipupo Olorunshola

The man ran
But they ran faster
They ran after him
More like a mob
Panting and running
Trying to avoid
The flying missles
And the hands
Being streched to grab him
He cannot afford to stop
To stop to catch his breath
He ran away
He ran even faster

The man bleeds, bleeding from
His head running down
And entering is face
The broken bottle
Thrown by one of
His pursuers got him
Squarely on his head
Splitting open his skull
Blood oozing out
If he should stop
And they get him
That would be the
End of him

Blood mix with sweat
Flowed freely from
His head down to his legs
Where ever he steps
He made a mark on the floor
A mark of blood
Bloody men on his heels
He ran faster and faster
Pleading with his eyes
His mouth opened
To suck in some air

His heart pounding
And beating as fast
As possible to accomodate
The running
He is getting weak
But he must not stop
Otherwise he would
Not live to share
The experience
Though it is a case
Of mistaken identity

How could he stop
And explain the situation
It is just too late
He ran faster, faster
He has to get away
Out of the reach of this
Murderous and angry mob
How did he get'
Himself cornered like this
Even unto death

He ran with all his might
He jumped,
He jumped across
Bearly missing the gutter
Colliding against the passing vehicle
Almost knocked down
By another oncoming one
Suddenly
A deadly blow landed
On his left eye
It was so sudden

He went temporarily
Blind and demobilised
He saw sparks, sparks of light
But remembered if he
Wants to live
To tell the story
He cannot stop
He ran on blindly
Vehicles Screeching to
Panic stop
He ran for his life

Yet, it is a case
Of mistaken identity
Suddenly, he saw
Policemen coming towards him
And he ran faster
Only for the mob
To slow down a little
No longer as ferocious
As before

It is only a case
Of mistaken identity
At last,
The police grabbed him
And the pursuing mob
Slow down and
Began to disperse
One after the other
They led him away
He would have been
Lynched

Alas, it was only
A case of mistaken identity.