"With love from the slums" by Angela Onozare Umoru

Munchkins, clothed in oversized regalia,

Torn and covered with stains,

Torn in ways that make a mockery of decency

And stains that conceal any semblance of the clothes’

original state

The munchkins jab at one other at the top of their

voices,

Speaking Hausa and laughing carelessly

Oblivious to the stares of reprimand they draw from

passers-by

Like a pack of dirty cubs,

They go through the hustle and bustle of life en

masse,

Striving daily to earn a living

And make it home with a stipend

Be it by outstretched hands that plead for your charity

The wares they peddle on the streets, in traffic

Or the menial jobs they engage in

They are the outcasts of society

Natives of the streets

Little children with filthy bodies

They are undeterred by contempt,

As long as a sum, even if paltry, graces their palms

They are viewed as the menace to be wary of

Nuisances that ultimately become tools of havoc

Yet, the solidarity amongst them is unmistakable,

Even in their brash brawls over their scarce

resources,

The loyalty of these natives of the slums is resolute

At the end of the day, they drag their tired but

undaunted spirits back home,

Much like hens that make it home to roost after the

day’s wanderings

Angela Onozare Umoru, from Kogi State, is a third-year student of Mass Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State.