Tunnel of Confusion (part I) - Nigerian Village Square

Apr

2008

	By *Churchill Okonkwo* 22 April 2008

Tunnel of Confusion (part I)

This water is dirty
But drink it you must
You don’t have option
Do you?

Hey!
Chase that fowl away from that dirty water
It needs it too, I know
But not before me
Ha,
It has placed its dirty legs
In the already dirty water
More confusion?

Maybe I should go back to sleep
Or stop that cock from crowing
But the dawn is here already
I can ignore it
But for how long?

Six years in primary school
Six years in secondary school
Six years in the university
Thanks to teachers strike
Now, five years in the labor market already?

This life
This life of seesaw of unemployment
And endless toil

I’ve heard this rhythm before
A rhythm reminiscent of endless cycle
Madness
Confusion
Then total darkness

© Churchill Okonkwo 2008

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Robot

# 1 | 22.04.2008 12:26

	Tunnel of Confusion (part I) ...Read the full article.

WayoGuy WayoGuy is offline

# 2 | 22.04.2008 16:55

	Dear villagers: I saw in my village, yes I saw a village anthill Short like this poem by Okonkwo’s Churchill Deceptively simple in color and building blocks But rich in endless imagery, the kind that shocks All around one sees the dirty water on the prowl And again the dirty water further fouled by fowl The poet laments the plight of the sadly helpless The youth caught in a recycled endless madness But I have a question or two for Okonkwo’s poet If a balladeer and the fowl sing a dirty water duet And a poet merely joins in the unemployment song When, I say when will we begin to right the wrong Shall we not rise and not dwell on poetic sadness Just stop singing and cursing the endless darkness Shall we not take our destiny in our own hands Instead of wringing our hands for magic wands Let us rise and clean the smelly dirt from the water We may then boast that unlike others we are smarter I know you hear me well, I know you agree with me That to end the cycle of madness requires you and me Yes, I saw in my village, I saw a village anthill Inside the anthill, castles and mansions by ants Then I saw a poem, a very rich poem by Okonkwo's Churchill Like the anthill I see the poem as a call for action, not chants WayoGuy