Opposing Cardinals Poem by Stella Adaeze Ogwatta

I felt the roughness of the grope,
But the revulsive cringe that should follow deserted me.
Rather, it held me in awe
that protection so much felt like hatred.

When my eyes drifted to the other end,
His eyes told not of a different story
and his abductor held him by his head.
Perhaps, to stop his daring love ideas from flowing
For he once muttered to me in secret
that thoughts of me filled his head.

He was dragged to his Northern web,
I staggered to the East- the aftermath of the grope.
My point of the Cardinals, they say, is where the sun rises
Yet, my sun had risen at the opposing cardinal.
Opposed both in bearing and in existence.

The sun beams stronger now as I sojourn;
I wince at its way of welcoming me home
This time, scorching my skin.
Ah my punishment for erring!
I look up at my abductor for the first time,
He is my kinsman
And I feel none of the love
which I have lost to the other side.