The Short Street Poem by Tony Adah

There is a short
Stretch of street
In the ancient city of Benin
It is crowded with people
In the hustle and bustle
Of cars and buses,
Lorries and trucks
Wares, madmen and beggars.


The road surface is rough
With an age-old ashphalt
Cracked here and there
Where puddles made
Abodes for croaking frogs
Its side drains are still
And green with stink.

The dulcet song
Of democracy leaves
No echoes in this place
Who told us to take
This one-way down town road
When our google map
Carried no indication of it?
It is a desirable gamble
To get us onto
The Benin -Sapele road.