Ikemefuna (A sacrificial lad in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart)
Kedu ! Ogini na eme N’abania
Moisten forest mesmerized by repugnant darkness
Thoughts wandering from dawn to sunset
From where will the darkness emerged
For in the mind of the hero lies cowardice and malice
But you said he was fearless, a crusader hero
Hour pillage with darkness will arrive
Time has come for action to cogitate
But profound thinking is for the cowards
Who told you so you simpleton?
Without thinking, how can meaningful actions speaks
You cannot obliterate a destine event
The hour has come
Where is Ikemefuna a lad of innocence?
Clothed with guilt and revenge
Where are the arrows
And where are the swords
We came to make peace to the land
We came not desolate the land
The land is not asking for sacrifice
The land is asking for tradition to prevail
Those customs were obsolete and unforgiving
Therefore let the lad go in peace
We came with a fig of olive branch
Here comes Okonkwo the son of the soil
Dripping with culture and customs
A celebrated hero with shallow mind
Arrow in one hand and a sword in another
Okonkwo did you come for war?
Waging a war against your own son?
Take the olive leaf and spare the life of the lad
But they said you’re a coward
Masquerading as a hero in untamed mind
Obscurity comes out from your eyes
Darkness flow out from your guts
Gushing darkness hidden in the pale mind
Wicked thought lost in vociferous tradition
Only the pained face that repelled cowardice
Ikemefuna, Agu nwa a dutiful son not sacrificial object
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