Introduction
There once was a silk
Who lived and still lives
Educated and learned
Refined and polished
All who knew him
Said he was wise
If not, they asked:
“Why was his hair white?”
The snowest of white
Like a baby lamb
Even Soyinka wondered whether he dyed
No, this was a sage, a god amongst men
A man of learning
A man who read
Letters and words, his butter and bread
In the courtroom he was, respected and feared
To go against him, men would dread
Defeat was sure, for those who dared
Alas, like all men, a weakness he had
That is Egusi, his love of which
Has given him now, a dishonourable badge.
Egusi, egusi, egusi
Who doesn’t love egusi?
Tell me, who doesn’t love egusi?
The sight of her
The aroma and taste of her
Egusi, fine fine egusi
Ah egusi, the tribeless one
The sweetest one
The one who has men licking their lips and fingers
And always asking for more
Ah egusi, the dangerous mistress
The one who satisfies but leaves men blotted and
cursing…
cursing…
Courtship and Consummation
Silk always knew egusi
Always admired her
Coveted and chased her
Adored and worshipped her
But silk knew she was bad
She was bad for him
For she had a reputation of soiling great men
A reputation of dirtying the cleanest of men
A reputation of staining great reputations
Once she leaves her mark on you
It is seen
And no amount of omo can wipe it clean
Yet silk pursued her like a madman in heat
For the taste of her overpowered his wit
He forgot his brief and all his ethics
And forged ahead
For deadly meat
Like a warrior in the battlefield
He fought and killed
All in the bid for sweet egusi’s lips
Silk conquered and got his wish
Egusi was his, fait accompli
After the deed, silk was soiled
So he changed his robes into another of course
But egusi’s stain was like a hole
You can fix it
But it will always show that it was once a hole
So Silk went about dressed in his new robes
Confident his egusi tale will never be told
Till the Eagle came with its probes
And learned silk needed a silk to hold
Questions were asked, fingers were pointed
Defences crumbled, evidences amounted
Judgement was given, and it went like this:
Egusi is sweet, it is sweet indeed; but you
silk, are now a convict, case dismissed.
silk, are now a convict, case dismissed.
Condemnation
Pity?
No!
I have no pity for silk
For silk was aware when he made his choice
For silk was under no duress
Of body nor of mind
For silk was seized of his actions
Just like his brief
The consequences
Just like a thief
No, silk deserves no pity
Only scorn and reproach
Leave pity aside
His actions, we can’t condone
Silk made his bed
On it he shall lie
Silk soiled himself
In it he shall lie.
I remain a Minister in the Temple of Justice.
L. Attoh Esq.
© 2018 Lotanna Attoh. All Rights Reserved. Photo:
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