Oh father
My father
The strength I should acquire when in despair
The shoulder I should lean when I cry
The book I should read to gain morals
The wings that should cleave unto me when I fly
The protection that should ward off preys from devouring me
But now…
Should I call you father or spoiler?
Each day I inhale the smoke from your cigarette
My frail heart is tired already
My shiny eyes are growing dim by the day
I call you father
Yet you are a monster
Abandoned your wife in a worthless world
You are supposed to whisper strength to her ears each day
Instead, you have made a brothel a home to stay
Father, oh father!
Each night you return
With unbearable odour from different green bottles
Your cloth stinks with smoke of piped pipes
Why have you become a worthless father?
Father
You should be a mentor
You are to take your kids farther
Yet you limit their moves
And make every moment hell to bear
You have squandered all
Your wealth only rests in dancehalls
Pride has stolen your brain
And your children you have refused to train
Father oh father!
Your presence in the house brings terror
Every good your wife and children do becomes an error
We fret and stagger when you whistle by
Our feet attempt to fly
Father oh father
Your lips are adorned with endless curses
Why curse when you should bless?
Why destroy when you should build?
We long to see
A father like Isaac
A father, not a monster
Whose integrity all can emulate
Who stands by his kids to succeed
Who whispers courage to his wife
Who’s greeting is a blessing
A father like JEHOVAH
Poem by Abigail Imoh
Written 2020, from Eket, Akwa Ibom State
1 Comment
Thank you for the publication. I appreciate