Pulse logo
Pulse Region

"IBA" by Abraham Isaac Oluwatimilehin

sick man
sick man

Pain licks the boundaries of tolerance, intensity

Searing. The pounding of a thousand housewives,

Ate away at my crown with reckless abandon

Not Iyan – the king of delicacies in all its supple

splendor

But agony: raw, real and relentless

"It is Iba!", proclaims the medicine man

Casting me such a disdainful look no benevolent

executioner would

Bestow on one condemned to die

As though I was the architect of my own fortunes

Or lack of it

Then silence...not up there; around here

"Drink this! Bath with this!"

"Rub this on the land of the sun never shines! My fee

shall be –

Five thousand and not a kobo less.."

I parted my stench filled mouth in an effort of

appreciation

"Th…thank..."

"There shall be no haggling"…the fellow bellows

Dare I?

It's been three days since I last felt the taste of my

mouth

The yam has lost its sweetness,

The wine, its appeal

No missus reaches a tender hand to sooth

The dreadful ache tearing at my weary bones

I am lacking in wealth…

Plentiful in ill health

With bounteous bad luck

I"ve had a pain-filled life and now,

The respite I"ve long sought after will be mine

I"ve done the needful...like a man.

Beeni, I…Akanni, shall be said to have been a man

An abandoned man…a sick man

Pain sears in

Tearing at my insides. The pounding…the pounding of a

thousand housewives – sweat drenched.

I close my eyes

Welcome, the reaper!

Cloak clad...scythe-wielding

There"s humming in my ears.

Rhythmically rising above the pounding…

There's a parade in the streets –

"My belle o..."

"My head o…"

Abraham Isaac Oluwatimilehin was born on the 31st of August, 1997. A literary aficionado with active interests in neo-poetry and creative writing, Abraham is a 200L student of Medicine and Surgery, College of Medicine, Ekiti State University, Ekiti State.

ALSO READ: 'Sundown in Port Harcourt' by Okafor Kingsley Chisom

Subscribe to receive daily news updates.

Next Article