A Rainy Night in a Nigerian City

Strange ‘tis,

Walking in the rain

The path to your home

Headlights behind you.

Bent poles, dangling cables–

A myriad of carelessness.

The darkness, the wetness–

You are almost in the ditch.

Wailing hawkers, haggling b
uyers-

Indifferent to sounds’ enveloping pitch.

On the day’s deathbed, the blackness

Thickens then comes quietness.

What’s left for today is a mess

Dirt: dumped cans, polythene bags, junk

All aspiring to be the foundation

Of our tomorrow's environment.

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written Sunday July 3rd, July 2005 after walking home on a rainy night from Uwasota junction (at Ugbowo, Benin-city) where i went to buy bread.