The winter frost snow caps the cars
Dark puddles litter the car park potholes
Last year’s Harmattan seems a world away.
M&S dressed ladies meet for tea and scones
Mothers wheel their kids for pizza and Big Macs
Last year’s suya fires my taste buds.
Pedestrians stroll safely in the Thoroughfare to shop
Streaming from politely parked cars siphoned from bypassing traffic
Last year’s ocados still squirm between my legs.
Blue jeans, black coat, head bowed she trudges off to the Co-op
Blue jeans, black jacket, head bowed he heads off to the pub
Last year’s proud, flaming scarlet abaya still floats with effortless elegance across the Ahmadu Bello Highway .
Last year’s Afrobeat has hip hopped to minimalist Glass
Hot coal grilled Croacker has mueted to deep fried Haddock and chips
Last year’s Oyibo’s tan has faded, paled without whiteners
Shaping up the chrysalis of next year’s me.
Word of explanation:
Harmattan - seasonal cold, dry, dusty West African trade wind blowing from the Sahara to the Gulf of Guinea between November and March
Suya – street food, somewhat like a kebab, flattened meat on a skewer, well seasons with chilli
Ocado – a motor cycle taxi
Abaya – a woman’s full length gown in Saudi Arabia, but here used with some poetic license applied to a full length, but more fitted but still loose and flowing Kaftan-like ladies riga or gown
Ahmadu Bello Way – a busy major road in Abuja, Nigeria
Croacker - Pseudotolithus senegalensis (Cassava croaker) is a white sea fish commonly grilled over open fires with hot spices all over Nigeria and much of West Africa.
Oyibo – Non-derogatory, Nigerian slang for a white person
No comments:
Post a Comment