The Long Letter Poem by CHRISTOPHER MUDIENYI

THE LONG LETTER.
So long a letter,
That I wrote later,
A letter to be read later,
A letter to the policeman,
A letter not from the postman,
A letter not for the latter,
A letter not to flatter,
A later letter so long a letter.
Dear Mr. Policeman in my letter,
May I read to you this long letter,
I hope you're a lot better,
Just because you cut the fetter,
To make me a go getter,
For me to get to my later,
To write so long a letter.
Behind these gates I take position,
To rewind the juxtaposition,
This collision of situations,
That is my composition,
A composition for exposition,
A time for regurgitation,
A moment of reflection,
My sorrows I deposit,
My fears to the compost,
In a later letter so long a letter.

My dad did the deed,
‘My kid', he said, 'you should read'
To get what I should need.
In a bid to get my needs,
I slid to the slimy reeds,
In the reeds the hungry feeds,
What a letter so long a letter.

My mama mummed me,
My mum mummed murmurs in me,
With Teddy bears I could bear,
The bare absence not so fair,
I never wanted the Teddy bear,
I just wanted you to be there,
With your lullaby to lull me there.
I met my highness,
we shook hands with loneliness,
Who invited us with calmness,
To sit beside a fire so rare,
And warm our hands without retire,
Together we recounted tales,
Of a love left behind,
Exchanged cups of tears,
And sadly smiled at each other's faces,
As the flames linked us each to each,
New tricks to me he taught,
With all my brains I was caught,
To disentangle myself I fought,
But this my idea he never bought,
In his firm grip I instantly got,
Into his potions pot I incessantly got,
Snatching me from the innocence cot.
With his love I could floss,
Even though for a loss,
He nailed me on the white cross,
He jailed me with a force so gross,
With the white powder of course,
That shook me off the course,
Confused confusion was on course,
More and more hallucinations it would cause.
In the cells, my freedom he jailed,
In my own cells, my judgment had failed,
In those cells, my fate was nailed,
In my brain cells, some sense he nailed,
In my choking cells, the truth he unveiled,
My eyes scales, he scrubbed without fail,
From my shells, he grabbed me by tail,
And assured me that I wouldn't fail.
You placed me on parole,
And told me I had a role,
A role to roll out of the wasted roll,
To play my role for which I had a call,
Not to be part of the death toll,
A horrible statistic so foul,

Out of this cruel jail, I walk,
Out of slumber's trail, I walk,
Out of the sleepy fail, I awoke,
Out of these gates of jail, I walk,
I walk the talk because I awoke,
Into the sweet freedom, I freely walk,
Into a lovely kingdom, I willingly walk,
A smell of freshness, so refreshing,
A feel of greatness, so encouraging,
A touch of kindness, so fulfilling,
A taste of freedom, so appealing,
Mr. Policeman you who let me free,
From this smoky cage that I hate,
Mr. Policeman you who jailed me to be free,
Free from the malicious son of fate,
I remain thankful to this date,
Thankful that you opened the gate,
And to date, it's not late to open this gate,
And Smell the fragrance of a fresh beginning,
Blooming into a flower of winning, yours faithfully the grateful one.