Hot Soup by David Oroge
Funny how the term ‘hot soup’ is common
but no one really knows how ‘hot a soup’ we’re really in.
We’re cooking on low heat in our own broth,
broth so thick that even the waters of accomplishment has dried up in it.
And so,
we wallow…
Swimming helplessly in our very own hot soup prepared by the colonial masters.
And yes,
we seem to love pepper soup.
Oh!
Delicious pepper soup, the kind that makes your tongue water at the very scent of it.
Little do we know we are the catfish in that pepper soup.
Lying dead and helpless
to appease the hunger of the eater.
The pepper so hot that it gets into our skin.
Oh yes!
We can’t help it.
Because just like fish in the soup, we’re helpless.
Oh!
Who doesn’t love the taste of ponmo alata?
Nobody can deny the pleasure it brings with all the spice and condiments.
Especially when it is topped down with a bottle of small stout?
That is the same way the militants writhe in joy
Like the Python that has had its fill after a sumptuous meal;
When they see the spoils of their attacks.
Everyone loves gyration.
Dance all night,
party till the sun comes out…
How long can we continue this when our roof is on fire.
and we’re the barbecue the gladiators are feasting on?
*David is a Nigerian writer. You’ll find him sharing his opinions on the state of the polity one tweet at a time @lj_kush
