Our Emissaries Poem by Akinmuleya Alfred

OUR EMISSARIES

They left before dawn
When the faddish figures are disguised by the caliginous atmosphere
That seemed a perfect time.
They left unnoticed, unrecognized
Before the morning cocks raise their voice.

II
At noon
My father whispered a truth to me
'They will return with a toom creel.'
And of truth,
They've got nothing to show
Other than the knives they received
Which stabbed them as a well deserved comeuppance

III
'When we sent you to the white men school
We hope to travel in a *made-by-us* supersonic airbus
We paid for your cognizance
We prayed for your survival
We visited *Osanyin for *ariran
We consulted *Babalawo for *Isoye-
And when the White men read their books
They battered horses for cars
But when you read their books-


AKINMULEYA A. ALFRED
©2017