Hearts At War Poem by Chris Jibero

'Anxiously calm like a spring at dawn
Awaiting eagerly to be fetched
From this dungeon called palace
To be truly loved by you'
Comes Gem's message to reactivate
My languishing heart, having gone dormant
And the sky thickens, overcast in utter anger
For clouds not thick yield no downpour

Gem taken at the wink of my steady gaze
Forced marriage, mock matrimony
That stole smile from a charming face
Made a mummy on her wedding day
Staring vacantly as a dead tilapia
Wheeled to the victual-vaunting kitchen
Of a loot-loving czar
And my heart sparks like lightning
Roars like thunder, rolls and threatens
As a pregnant cloud and suddenly overcome
By labour pangs as she repeatedly groans
Set to deliver a consuming storm
Fit only to capsize the yacht
Of the monstrous love-purchasing beast

On Gem is my heart fixated
Like a door on its jamb
To set free from her wealth-oozing captor
Purchaser of reason and decency
Men castrated by Naira
Love stolen from its archives
Women's endearing and hilarious hearts
All sitting transfixed like Zuma rock
Mouths sealed with crisp bank notes
Domestic and international in arrogant display
Sweat-smelling shrouds of the poor and needy

For action calls my blazing heart like a beagle
That summons a dauntless soldier scorning every foe
Desiring neither plunder nor booty but to pursue
Overtake and recover my invaluable Gem
And rest has it refused to partner with
For this rehearsed battle most vital
Can't wait to become brutal
In this crusade to retake mine

And like gas flared at Eket, my desire
Burns voraciously
For Gem is the only priceless artifact
Qualified to adorn my secured museum
A vast city of care and peace
A paradise arrayed in gold like an Asantehene
Is my expansive heart longing to retake mine
For whom there is no ransom
But an amalgam of eggheads to rescue
Cos the weapon of my warfare
Is neither cash nor brawn but brain.


(C) Chris Jibero.1999.