Poetic Licence|:Travelling by Rail (From Kubwa to Rigasa)

At the train station there was no light; So the electronic notice board could not display, Though flanked by Buhari’s and Amaechi’s And Bello’s portraits. The President’s eyes Were bland, his mien a comical half-frown Straining a reluctant smile from a taut Countenance; the Ministers’ eyes stared down Into the hot waiting lounge of a […]

At the train station there was no light;

So the electronic notice board could not display,

Though flanked by Buhari’s and Amaechi’s

And Bello’s portraits. The President’s eyes

Were bland, his mien a comical half-frown

Straining a reluctant smile from a taut

Countenance; the Ministers’ eyes stared down

Into the hot waiting lounge of a station

With new but dry taps and new, partially broken

Chairs, and a rusty, idle scaffolding raised

Roofwards and stood by the far wall.

But the train ride was cool and comfy,

And there was light at the station when we arrived.

(Oke is the 2017 winner of the Nigeria Prize for Literature for The Heresiad)