Tribal Marks Poem by Oluwaseun Ogunbiyi

Only when i was a little child
Entrapped in walls of innocence
My mother drew me in arms so mild
To the towns-heart at Leissence
Other infants laid in arms of their mothers
when they danced back and forth hence;
Gathered drummers and skillful singers
Displaying their feats with diligence
How ungenerous their betokening step,
Handling us over to skin carvers
And oh how much did we yelp
As our faces got stamped with marks