ABSCESS IN STATE – by Nduko o’Matigere
My state’s lower abdomen aches
Paining in gnawing unending pangs
Each movement a spell in acute pain
Like a branding rod: red hot; frightening
Pressed coldly atop sections of the country’s buttocks
The sores and pain and itching mingle
My motherland’s lower abdomen is swollen
A congealed collection of ugly yellow-brown abscess
Gathered and drummed in protective muscle
Capsules of pretense
Neighboring organs are evicted
It stings and spreads pain to the entire nation
Some in vascoverticular positions
Others in anteroperpendicular rabid straits
Those with mouths scream
Those with tears weep and wet their cheeks
My motherland’s lower abdomen
A haunting region of hazards
Grips my whole state
Stoops my proud walk
Frowns my cheerful face
Frails my healthy body
The yellow-brown abscess
Right here where I touch.
(October 30, 1998)
NDUKO O'MATIGERE 