CATFISH
by Wana Udobang
She clutched me in her clay coloured arms
Frail and thin
Bruised from the warring earth
She suckled me from her fallen breasts
Beaten of life
She laid me on her chest
Her heart thumping like a steady drumbeat
She told me
You will not be catfish
Point and kill
They will not choose you like they chose me
You came with an entrance
Umbilical cord wound so tight around your neck
Like hands pressing against your throat I feared you would brake
Your silence was deafening
The longest I had ever heard
The air was stiff
And my world stood still
But you came
This thing starry eyed with a head adorned in a kinky bouquet
From dancing ekonmbi in my womb
Summersaulting to praise songs
You came with an entrance
Shrugging those shoulders
Believing you had arrived
You barely listened
Hear me when I say
You will not be catfish
Point and kill
Wriggling like a worm
Devoured as prey
Licked to the bone
You came with an entrance
You must tell your daughters this tale
That they will not be catfish
Point and kill
They will not choose them like they chose me
3 Comments
Love this piece!!!
This Poem Wana Wana, is a soul food, an obvious communication, and a glimpse of hope. Simple, yet lovely.
Simple poem with a huge message.
Parents should tell their children about their growing and coming of age and the mistakes they made. Especially should mothers warn their daughters of the dangers on the road to adulthood and show them the road not to travel along.