So Close yet so Distant
Osakue Omoera 1973 (Benin City)
So Close yet so Distant
Thieftains erect drain pipes
Draining the land by wuruwuru
And many a paunchy belly
Fart and belch as if implosion is imminent
A mass of undesirables
Stare the masses in the face
Just as they are emasculated:
NEPA, I mean PHCN black-out, nightmares from big bros’ generators’ din;
Flood everywhere, colourful spray from big bros’ flying cars;
Abroad institutions expand by big bros’ soft earned money and Home schools host lizards in makosa dance competition;
FGN and SGN embargo employment
As mass deployment of theiftains abounds;
Oil flows everywhere yet
The masses exchange blows to get
Kerosene and petrol
So close and yet so distant
The commoner’s stomach aches and headaches translate
Yes! Translate in tons to tension
Headaches and pressure head aches
For the counterfeiters
As long as they sing;
Relax, everything will soon go swimmingly
Where!
Running with hares and hunting with hands?
Where has it worked?
Where has it helped?
The yawning lacunae are crying for bridging
Look!
So close yet so distant
Suffering and uncertainties are on rampage
In the roomlets and pockets of the common folks
But the walakolombo he- men say:
Let’s not talk lady politics gentlemen
Ok! Millions struggling with lack is lady politics?
Millions with broken hearts without
Hope of mending is lady politics?
Millions yet unborn who are handicapped in their mummies’ wombs are lady politics?
Millions irked by broad day political banditry is lady politics?
Millions hoping against hope is lady politics?
Are all these many imponderables lady politics?
About this poem
So Close yet so Distant is a poem about the deprivations suffered by Nigerian masses that is occasioned by the rabid corruption of the political class and their thieving cohorts from within and outside Nigeria
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Written on 2021
Submitted by OsakueOmoera on April 10, 2022
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:28 min read
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Quick analysis:
Scheme | A bcdabxxexfaxggxaxfxxhdcxxxhxAxxxeixiiiii |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,619 |
Words | 295 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 40 |
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"So Close yet so Distant" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/126559/so-close-yet-so-distant>.
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