AREWA

Bad timing, I know
But like you always said,
I would only start to swim
When the water was above my head

I remember how you braved through my silence
You always joked of revenge
To punish me for not loving you
To starve me to no end

You would sit on your stool for hours
Your favourite that was made of wood
You would mould and sculpt the world to naught
But I wish I understood

I often lied to you about your skills
That they could charm a sun's ray
Arewa, if I knew that life would come to this
I would've lied every single day

It was never because of your limp
It wasn't your tight-knitted brows
It wasn't that I didn't love you, Arewa
It was that I didn't know how

My mind was everywhere
But the confines of my head
It was thinking of all the other people
That you could've loved instead

Spinning and whirling your pain out of existence
On your little stool of wood
Waiting for the clay of blood to grant your wish
Like your mother said it could

I understand now, Arewa.
You didn't need to explain
That your sculptures were not made from red earth
But from your life's essence and pain

I cursed myself the day you told me
That your constant wish was my love
That everyday at that stool was a prayer
That there'd be a future for us

I wept and shook like no man ever had
I cursed my wandering mind
It was undeserving of your love
Which was the purest of its kind

You gazed at me knowingly
You shuddered and you smiled
While the doctor rattled jargons of "Arrhythmia"
And brought my mind out of the wild

We would need a heart transplant, he said
And the chances of its success are slim
So even if we could find a donor
Arewa's surgery might be just as grim

"My wish finally came true," you said
And looked at my tears, "Can't you see?
It might have taken my ill and dying heart
But you finally love me"

I couldn't explain
Much less breathe
How would you understand?
How could I make you see?

I tearfully as ever whispered in your ear
Ade ori mi, you are my crown
I love you with every breath and in every deed
Would've loved you in every word if I knew how

Couldn't you see that I would do anything?
Anything at all for you
I would scout for hours at the market and
Fight off anyone you wanted me to

Didn't you understand when the businessman That was always in your face
Suddenly disappeared one day
Till he was found naked at the market place

Didn't you see when Adeola the gossip
Started spreading a nasty lie?
How she disappeared too anytime you looked
At me like you were about to cry?

The King's son I contended with
Who tried to make your heart his own
Didn't you see that suddenly he stopped visiting?
And suddenly there was no heir to the throne

And many more over the years;
Your stepfather who hurt you
But didn't you see my love, Arewa?
Violent, maybe, but always true

So here lies your revenge
My last angry brawl is due
A brawl with death to let your heart go
A brawl with my soul to lose you

And trust me this pain is eternal
But certainly this one you would finally see
For you certainly can't ignore
The very rhythm of your heart that was the rhythm of me

I guess we took giving you my heart
To a whole new level, didn't we?
Now I can go with peace and pain
Knowing that you finally see

So give my love to Femi
I'm happy he got to feel
The rhythm of the things I couldn't say
Of how I loved you and always will

I love that boy; make sure he knows
But I'm glad we never met
So he could escape seeking love from a person
Who loved him but couldn't say it yet

I forever remain your one true love
You may now wipe the tears from your eyes
Your revenge is served; I have finally lost
My most prized possession and it is not my life

Yours forever,
Olufemi Adewale Coker (Senior)