Nuggets For Secondary Student Poem by Gabriel Eshun

Then a phonecall from my Little Sis demanded; “tell me
how, you learnt to make your grades at St. Augustine’s?

Oh Little Sister; I used to be a miner
As you know most miners do nocturnal mining
But I maintained a deep preference for daytime mining
Often I staggered at 9pm to bed till the Tower Bell sang
Oftentimes I maintained a flexible timetable of menu
I liked munching meals till they passed thru smoothly

Don’t think I was boring—Not at all, Sister
I enjoyed observing Ike Newton juggling apples of gravitation
Of listening to Uncle Nkrumah drumming positive forces
And how potassium permanganate yielded to colourlessness
And taught me the value of glowing through sacrificing…

Like we gathered from home, at school I stayed
Content like a noonsun radiance through canopies
Oh I enjoyed the parliament of meaningful schoolmates
As you know, we got to fructify on Pa and Ma’s investment
As you know, dreams only wear bodies tailored by actions…
So, I always took first step on my Solution Board—

And like how the Atlantic breeze cools our White House
Perseverance tamed my sweats of anxiety on D Days
Oftentimes my finger pointed heavens for more leaves
I flooded the leaves with italicized saliva
The Servers sometimes wished I wiped my gob quicker
Like some do But I did not mind them

Don’t think I was trouble—Not at all, Sister
With those wicked ingestions and assimilations, I got
Invited to dine grander at a Quadrangle Ceremony—
I got listed to be served first the deluxe biology
Playing Oliver, I asked for pure agricultural yoghurt…!

Little Sis, there are packages for eating and absorbing…
Oh cast your mind and seek inspiration from honeybees…
Teachers can be lodestars to conquering negotiations…!

Little Sis—Maize under sleepless light may swank
The long romance with light but the harvest time tells it all
Oh mimic not owls only to improvise books as sleeping pads…

Addition: add zest of ‘mens sana in
Corpore sano’ in your menu.