[POETRY] "With love from the slums" by Angela Onozare Umoru
Speaking Hausa and laughing carelessly..At the end of the day, they drag their tired but undaunted spirits back home..
play
play
Munchkins, clothed in oversized regalia,
Torn and covered with stains,
Torn in ways that make a mockery of decency
And stains that conceal any semblance of the clothes’
original state
The munchkins jab at one other at the top of their
voices,
Speaking Hausa and laughing carelessly
Oblivious to the stares of reprimand they draw from
passers-by
Like a pack of dirty cubs,
They go through the hustle and bustle of life en
masse,
Striving daily to earn a living
And make it home with a stipend
Be it by outstretched hands that plead for your charity
The wares they peddle on the streets, in traffic
Or the menial jobs they engage in
They are the outcasts of society
Natives of the streets
Little children with filthy bodies
They are undeterred by contempt,
As long as a sum, even if paltry, graces their palms
They are viewed as the menace to be wary of
Nuisances that ultimately become tools of havoc
Yet, the solidarity amongst them is unmistakable,
Even in their brash brawls over their scarce
resources,
The loyalty of these natives of the slums is resolute
At the end of the day, they drag their tired but
undaunted spirits back home,
Much like hens that make it home to roost after the
day’s wanderings
Angela Onozare Umoru, from Kogi State, is a third-year student of Mass Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State.
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