THE GIRL KING

Monarchs of the last millennium
Men Kings and Women Queens
For the latter was made voiceless
That she could lay no claim to her throne
Surrendering her heritage to matrimony

Kingdoms of the past centuries
Ruled by Men Kings and walked by Model Queens
For once, she chose to pass a decree
That was ruled a treason against her nation
Losing her tongue to slavery and her Kingdom to men.

Women of the last Decades
Kings and Queens they chose to be
And they fought hard to be heard and obeyed
That they be better than the Men Kings
Battling tradition for their birthrights and liberties

This is my dynasty
I am no Woman Queen
For I would rather be called King
Call me Radical, I do not care
I rule a Kingdom and not a Queendom.

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Stuck in the earth that moulded us
Our native brownness lit by the radiant sun
Complementing each other's troughs and grooves
The moment stood still

Held in the the magical space
Our heartbeats synchronizing
in the golden silence
Plunging the sledgehammers and screws into each other's naked skins
Trying to fit in the rib cage from which we formed.

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PERFECTLY AFRICAN
The female that was perfectly sculpted with adorning curves 
Swaying her wide hips gracefully as she walked down the streets 
Smiling and joyfully waving at everyone 
Was ironically hated by her peers for her guts 
‘How can she be so fat”,they said revoltingly 

And was painted black with inquisitively piercing brown eyes 
Her quest for knowledge was like an Ox 
She was surrounded by natives with Brown skin 
Who presumed their colour perfect and called her Charcoal 

She spoke with such wisdom and authority 
Her lingua franca perfectly flawed by her indigeneity 
With pitch intimidatingly rising and falling 
But her compatriots reprobated her on how ill she spoke 

For she was a lamb 
With such innocence and hurt and a rollercoaster of emotions 
Her people were consumed with reeks of infidelity 
Thus, labelled her a fox for her guilefulness 

Finally, she moved past the pain, envy and hatred 
Acknowledging how threatened they were of her personality 
For she was a better representation of her roots 
And she focused more on developing herself 
Learning to love herself more as she was perfectly flawed. 

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INSANITY

Demons conquered, beds laid 
Looking forward to his fruits and more roses 
Unfortunate events and disappointments 
And then, a bitter sorrow 

A Thief in the thick lonely darkness 
A faceless terror invading his mind 
Thuds and heavy punches 
A deafening silence!!! 

Hanging in a dark hollow 
Strange man! Strange mind! Strange world! 
Robbed and stripped of his sanity 
Left to be devoured by the horrid mystery. 
INSANITY!!! 

Smiling through the battles 
Laughing through the horror 
Declared and assumed healthy 
The darkness consumed him 
SUICIDE!!!

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TO THE FACELESS PLAGUE

Where have you come from, Oh killer!!!
Turning our real world into a tense thriller
Intruding and dominating our alveoli
Yielding us over to the life miller

Why have you come now with such aggression
Rearing your ugly head with affliction
Swiftly and virulently attacking more relations
Not sparing the non immune from your assassinations

When will you take your leave, you darkness!!!
Slaying families across nations with such abruptness
While we hide behind closed doors hoping in prayerfulness
Judging you not by your invisibility

What birthed you, Ugly monster
While running from you,we try to live altogether
Leaving some loose edges for you, batterer
Making you grin grotesquely at your accusers

You will be gone soon, Oh terror!!!
Our fears and tears are almost ending with sopranos and tenors
We will live again inhaling freely
While the "defeated terror" watches in horror.

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A TINY KILLER

THE WORLD’S CITIZENS
Watching from my windows
The streets I strayed with no worries
Deserted and devoid of humans
The singing birds roaming freely
Ousting our laughter and noises with irksome pitches
My home, my prison
“Self Isolate or get and spread the virus” They warned

Furiously reviewing my reserves
My stock now almost gone
Dreading the crowds in the stores and markets
It’s spreading like a rapid fire
My skin flinches at the thought of this
How can this tiny creature be so powerful
We’re in between the devil or the red sea
The Virus kills us or Famine kills us.


THE HEALTH WORKER
Ring….Ring….Ring
Work! Work! Work!
My Job, My Home, My Prison
Exponential inflation on PPEs
It’s spreading like rapid fire
Some of us have been captured by the killer
More of us are infected but asymptomatic
We can’t all self isolate
Living each day at work hoping we don’t catch the corona virus

-OYINDAMOLA AFOLABI

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MISOGYNY AMONGST US

Sister, why have you turned your back against us 
We were together slaves till our mothers rose to fight 
They fought so we could be liberated and rule 
But you ridicule our mothers' sweat and blood 
And trample on our sisterhood to seek ‘his' approval 
Whilst shewing us in a bad light

Sister, why have you chosen this path! 
Do you realize our mothers had sons whom they shewed love? 
Yet fought for our reign so we could have equal chances as our brothers 
But you spread hashtags insinuating that we all hate our brothers 
Leaving you as the sheep amongst wolves 

Why discredit our mothers' legacy 
Just because of the few bad eggs amongst us 
Ignoring those of us that have been exploited and broken 
Some with wounds that still bleed and never form scars 

Have you forgotten that nature itself cheated our feminity? 
We scream and struggle to be heard only with little progress 
We take all the help we can so our daughters don't suffer the ill fate

You shouldn’t hate your feminity so much to slander your sisters 
And nourish the hate some brothers have for us to seem attractive 
Never have I seen a man spread such hate for his own gender 
It shouldn’t be us

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The Black Boy

Hey Black boy 
I was told you were in love with yourself 
Boisterously adoring your melanin 
Wondering how such perfection could resist envy 

Beautiful black boy 
I was told of your challenges through life 
Defiantly succumbing to ephemeral relief 
Feeling the sharp pain of intense dislike 

Hey Black boy 
I saw your skin bleed and turn dark red 
Ignominiously concealing your atrocious scars 
Camouflaging callosity in desperation for healing 

Warrior Black boy 
I was told you finally freed the tears from those cages 
Shamelessly revealing your vulnerability 
Letting those wounds heal with beautiful scars... 

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MY NICKNAME

My real name professes wealth
And sweetness and honey
Birthed by wealth, to wealth and in wealth
Honey approached and mixed with wealth

I am HONEY
Not only the sweetener to your tea or delicacy
Nor the ointment for your beauty therapy
But that necessity for your bloom
I am that sunshine on your rainy day

I am not horny
But honey
And funny
You need money?
Just call me
For some honey!

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S- Soul
L- Lifting
E- Escape from
E- Every
P- Problem

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