Once upon a July
The farm boisterous
With scented new yams
And the farmers with
Faces smirk with success
Noisy pounding of fluffy pounded yam basking in rabbit infested spinach
Proudly escorted with freshly tapped palm wine
Yeasted and frothing
Sometimes in communal elation
Set to coincide
With many a festival
And everywhere agog
For the arrival of the king of swallow
But the wise among the farmers knowing that
By October, the rains subside
Prepare seedlings for the coming season
While the unwise eat up
The yam and seedlings
The pretentious wise came to
And opened up the barn
And swallowed in one gulp the reserved seedlings
The plan of tomorrow stark, gaunt, and dry
Smacking the lips with
Thirst and hunger looking up with lamps without oil
At yuan filled hands
Begging for loans with teary eyes
Eaters of reserves
Eaters of promises
Eaters of the fruit and seeds
“O je su,je lagbe.”
Knowledge comes with sacrifice
©TheVillageBoy