As we recommence our publication of Mammy Wagon Philosophies penned by unanimous sages, we would like to set the stage by publishing this poem by Martin Bennet, a British poet and translator. This poem comes from a collection that is informed by his time in Nigeria and was published in 1999 by Wasafiri.
ENSURE TO KEEP A DATE WITH OUR UNANIMOUS SAGES EVERY TUESDAY FOR YOUR WEEKLY DOSE OF MAMMY WAGON PHILOSOPHY.
Mammy-Wagons, Kaduna-Lagos Road
‘Slow but Steady,’ ‘Allah Knows,’ ‘Time is Going’ –
Wagons flash maxims north, south, east and west –
Now an armour-painted wingless ‘Boeing,’
Now the fast-thundering ‘God’s Time De Best.’
In a wayside ditch, beyond all towing,
‘Junior Tarzan’ takes a rusty rest.
Fortified meat for Ogun or Shango
Is its coachwork timer, iron engine.
Across the tilted tailboard a motto
Declares ‘WAR AGAINST INDISCIPLINE’
With a blazon of post-cautionary red.
‘No kiss my gnash’ winks the left tailfin,
the right, ‘Horn b/4 you put your head.’
To each driver or self-appointed ‘King
Of Roads’ his wheelspun philosophy and creed,
Here’s gear-screeching ‘No Telephone to Heaven.’
A ten-ton telegram for all to read,
Round the next curve hurtles ‘Psalm 27.’
Kaduna motorpark’s two hundred brawling
Miles behind already. ‘They Who Dread
For Their Lives, May Be Killed By a Falling
Leaf’ roars a bright reminder inside
The mirror, markets of Lagos, Ilorin
And Oshogbo still a hard day’s drive ahead.
By Martin Bennet
Wasafiri, Autumn 1999, Issue No. 30, 55