Efua:
ferryman of the nether
i heard your laughter
when the owls befriend
ebon of night
i have seen shadows on rainy days
trudging your path with fettered
chains
eyes drooling for pardon
for a fresh planting season
dregs chanting slogans of freedom
tooth rival to milk on salty puddles
all python to a brink whose cataracts
are tongues of sulphur

O Efua!
if what my nose sniffs on the night’s skin
was never a lying truth
then pot the seed of attrition
on this chest of mine
show me the effulgence of the tree
for i heard long ago,
my debt has been paid
that all i need to prepare the stew of
breath
was a pledge of marital fidelity?

ARTIST STATEMENT
Ojo Taiye is a young Nigerian who uses poetry as a handy tool to hide his frustration with the society.