Igbrinyi Carton Poem by Tony Adah

A lunatic took solace in our house
And slept on the verandah of a house
Government allocated to my wife
He relishes her soups of bitter leaf and mushrooms
And thank her more than anyone
Who has been of help to him.

When he comes in tattered
We replace what he clads on
And soon the gift tatters into rags
He moves in tow with a horde of children
Who taunt and call him names
As he hauls stones in vain at them
They temporarily retreat
Only to swell back and muse songs of him.

It is my word or that of my wife
That can act as a fumigant to these swarming bees.
He slept on the verandah of our house
When we had moved and asked my neighbour
To let him speak with me in his phone
And when I am hooked on to
All I hear is laughter and I am in no doubt
That that is Igbrinyi carton!