One Friend I Call Brother (For Nnamdi Ekeocha) (Part 1) Poem by Kingsley Egbukole

In the village
When small were we
We knew each other
Met in the church
And at school
We were not friends (real friends)

In Port-Harcourt
Years after
Yes, Port-Harcourt
The "Garden City"
We came closer
Met t youth gatherings
And development union meetings
We were not yet friends (very real friends)

Nature hasdug the foundation though
The blocks laid step by step
Not in a hurry but sure
Somehow at the meetings
We found ourselves drifted to a common end
A segregated sitting arrangement
With other members of the jobless

((Sunday 31st August,1997)