By Victor Uzodinma Chukwuma
53. She is a Refugee
The morning is lonely by the river bank;
The loneliness is chilly,
Yet here is a persevering soul
That is empty as the bank
Her suitors’ once lovely serenade
Now are choked strands of dirge
Sang from afar by tongues fearful of
Vain undertakers whose descent
Down the refuse dump marred our souls.
At the graveyard
Near the breadfruit tree,
A portion of scorched Earth await
Her soul’s ascent, her only Earthly lot;
Even as she is each of us who slumber.
54. Soweto Flowers
Dying is not substance,
But the death.
Rejoice he who is slain
And is mourn by the land,
And the heavens wear sackcloth.
Rejoice beyond,
Soweto Flowers.
He who in just dies,
Shall the master beyond be,
Rejoice in your translation.
Down in the country
These pregnant nights
Mothers keep vigil
With swollen eyes,
Don’t keep dawn long, Heavens.
These days,
Between barrels of gun,
Rout will reign
In the camp
That choked your breath.
Victor Chukwuma, Professor of Physics, renowned for his immense contribution to the development of Astronomy and Space Science in Nigeria, is a Fellow of the Astronomical Society of Nigeria and the Nigerian Institute of Physics.
