Refuge Poem by Chris Jibero

Saluting me on arrival
As soldiers drilled and stationed strategically
At both my right hand and my left
Are mushrooming midget mansions
Spread across an undulating landscape
As compact as the grains of a rich corn cob
Encroaching on roads weighed down
By the yoke of rainwater
With motorbikes endlessly belching
And coughing
And spewing
Carbon monoxide to overshadow cars
That clank and jangle
Complaining of wounds inflicted on them
By deplorable roads
Which they in turn depress with wear and tear

In my welcome party also are hawkers
Of goods and services
From salt sellers to grave diggers
Shouting themselves hoarse under a scorching sun
And whose dark faces are like aging blackboards
Riddled with wrinkles and cracks
Sustained over years of hard labour
As they strive tirelessly to offload their weary wares
On prospective unenthusiastic buyers
Who limp under heavy burden of a distraught economy
And they release different hit tracks
Hustling tools of their mobile trade fair
To win hesitant hearts for patronage
But they abuse my ears instead
And fray my nerves which had been tortured
By an energy-sapping journey

And the party continues at dusk
As staccato tunes are played
At a rowdy gala night
By toads, frogs, crickets, nocturnal birds
And daring meddlesome mosquitoes
Desirous of sleeping with me
Congregating in an unhealthy contest
That lasts till the wee hours of the next day
In a skewed celebration of my unscheduled visit
Rending the air with cheerless songs
As each orchestra sings laboriously
To impress and lull me to sleep
But their raucous, rambunctious tunes murder peace
The forerunner of sleep

And as a new day is being delivered
Just as sleep began to caress my eyelids
Like a seasoned lover
Muezzins stationed at different quarters
Aided by blaring loudspeakers
Sing invitation to morning devotion
A compulsory wake-up call for all
Which I must learn to tolerate
Or quickly beat a retreat
Because I have no right of complaint
Against infringement on my peace
At a home of refuge.

(c) Chris Jibero.