UNHOLY SCRIPTURES – A RELIGIOUS FANATIC
there are unholy scriptures on her palms
She chews them every night.
She forces a candlestick down her throat and chokes out
i am the light of the world
i am the light of the world and I will light this candle
She stabs a nail into her wrists and mumbles
to feel the saviour’s pain, I have to be the saviour.
This morning she took a headless lamb into her home
I heard her speak to it
you are my lamb. I have slain you
Now – speak for me with your blood
speak for me better things.
Nights when it rains heavily,
She runs out with a white wrapper tied to her breasts
She stands in the rain and begs it to pour on her
She screams this time
i have sinned
i have sinned against my lord.
On some other days,
She makes trips to the village graveyard
and kneels at the grave-bed of strangers
attempting to raise their bodies
weeping by their side
be my Lazarus
be my Lazarus
Yesterday, she attended the moonlight meetings
Where the Old women teach bible stories
And as mama spoke about Judas
She began to cry
- and tremble
- and spit blood out of her mouth
I watched the Old women carry her.
Footsteps away, I could hear her question
If I spill my blood on the bible
Will it turn all the words red
Will it turn the non-Jesuses to Jesuses.
Only then did I learn
That she had known a Judas.
A man had broken her.
Once I dared to ask
Why is Aunty Biliki like this?
One of my mates replied –
“If she swallows candles, her mouth is prepared to receive a man.
From hot to cold
Spilling out wax
Only a man.
Only a man in your mouth.
Don’t you know that not every boy makes it to the grave? or out of it?
She has gone to find herself
a dead boy who will rise up as man.
a Lazarus effect.”
Another giggled,
But her lamb will speak better things for her
What would it speak? I asked
And as the thick air settled upon our errand gossips
I heard someone whisper -
Speak a husband into existence.
She chews them every night.
She forces a candlestick down her throat and chokes out
i am the light of the world
i am the light of the world and I will light this candle
She stabs a nail into her wrists and mumbles
to feel the saviour’s pain, I have to be the saviour.
This morning she took a headless lamb into her home
I heard her speak to it
you are my lamb. I have slain you
Now – speak for me with your blood
speak for me better things.
Nights when it rains heavily,
She runs out with a white wrapper tied to her breasts
She stands in the rain and begs it to pour on her
She screams this time
i have sinned
i have sinned against my lord.
On some other days,
She makes trips to the village graveyard
and kneels at the grave-bed of strangers
attempting to raise their bodies
weeping by their side
be my Lazarus
be my Lazarus
Yesterday, she attended the moonlight meetings
Where the Old women teach bible stories
And as mama spoke about Judas
She began to cry
- and tremble
- and spit blood out of her mouth
I watched the Old women carry her.
Footsteps away, I could hear her question
If I spill my blood on the bible
Will it turn all the words red
Will it turn the non-Jesuses to Jesuses.
Only then did I learn
That she had known a Judas.
A man had broken her.
Once I dared to ask
Why is Aunty Biliki like this?
One of my mates replied –
“If she swallows candles, her mouth is prepared to receive a man.
From hot to cold
Spilling out wax
Only a man.
Only a man in your mouth.
Don’t you know that not every boy makes it to the grave? or out of it?
She has gone to find herself
a dead boy who will rise up as man.
a Lazarus effect.”
Another giggled,
But her lamb will speak better things for her
What would it speak? I asked
And as the thick air settled upon our errand gossips
I heard someone whisper -
Speak a husband into existence.
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BIO:
Soyinka Oreoluwa is a 20-year-old Nigerian poet whose poems focus on addressing human relationships and the simple things of life in a unique way. She’s a lover of African art, Poetry blogs and an Avid reader. She was rated one of the Top 100 poets in Nigeria during the 2019 Poets in Nigeria contest, and emerged as a Finalist in the Wole Soyinka Literary Competition of 2020.
She also writes and creates content for Feminine blogs and Youth magazines like The21Magazine. She’s a Chartered Accountant who loves to swim and travel in her free time.
She graduated from Babcock University.
Soyinka Oreoluwa is a 20-year-old Nigerian poet whose poems focus on addressing human relationships and the simple things of life in a unique way. She’s a lover of African art, Poetry blogs and an Avid reader. She was rated one of the Top 100 poets in Nigeria during the 2019 Poets in Nigeria contest, and emerged as a Finalist in the Wole Soyinka Literary Competition of 2020.
She also writes and creates content for Feminine blogs and Youth magazines like The21Magazine. She’s a Chartered Accountant who loves to swim and travel in her free time.
She graduated from Babcock University.
