That Day In Lagos Poem by Henry Isiekwe

That day
in her usual fashion
Lagos quarrelled and argued
violently with herself.

In Oshodi and Idumota
Market women clamoured and
rallied with shoppers about
rising price of fish

And the wheels of industry
spun fast and furious

Then a strange thing happened
But no one took note of it

An army of dark clouds
Marched valiantly across
the horizon and kidnapped the sun

A foul wind ransacked our city
Wailing like a trumpet
A trumpet heralding the triumph
Of a foul spirit over our destinies
Yet no one took note

That day
death swooped down
On Lagos the same way
a hawk nosedives from
The skies to lynch a chick in
Our backyard

That day ebola sneaked
Into our fold and death
obliterated the sun from
our eyes

That day in Lagos
we groped and stumbled
helplessly like new born
blind mice in the dark alleys
of fear and doom