Poet of the Week: Sylvanus Ebiegberi Nabena
Nabena has a BSc. from the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria and an MSc in Information Systems from the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom. He is most interested in empowering citizens to influence governance processes in Nigeria. Not Too Late to Wake Up She disagreed with him, so missiles attacked her face. Her baby cheeks […]
Nabena has a BSc. from the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria and an MSc in Information Systems from the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom. He is most interested in empowering citizens to influence governance processes in Nigeria.
Not Too Late to Wake Up
She disagreed with him, so missiles attacked her face.
Her baby cheeks were now engraved with his palm.
Constellations of stars heralded her slump.
Time was frozen. She had entered limbo.
I just hope that she wakes up.
She finally regains consciousness but disbelief is stronger than the impulse to cry.
Maybe this is penance for her wrongs of before.
She ponders for what feels like ages and decides to ignore.
“It was an accident. He wasn’t himself”. Her last thoughts to bed.
I just hope that she wakes up.
At dawn, she is baptised in rivers of apologies.
“It won’t happen again”. He insists on bended knees.
He is pleading and swearing in the name of several deities.
Assuring her that everything will get better.
I just hope that she wakes up.
Several weeks has now passed, and everything seems perfect.
Everything is ideal till déjà vu.
This time around, she mechanically shelters her face.
But nothing deters him. Slaps rain down, knocking her blank.
Will she ever wake up?
Another dawn has come, but it does not bring with it rejuvenation.
She is now detached from reality. Watching her life like a movie.
Her proof of breath is the fresh banging and throbbing in her head.
Everything around her seems so far away. Then, bang! It happens again.
Will she ever wake up?
Still, she does nothing for fear of what people will say.
She believes that society’s respect for her will vanish like drops of water on a sunny day.
Therefore, no matter the earthquakes that come her way,
She wears a mask. Made of layers of smiles.
Will she ever wake up?
She has long forgotten her true worth,
Unable to discern what’s her fault or not.
Luckily for her, the ball is still in her court.
It is not too late to wake up and shape her life.
It is not too late to get up and chart out her future.