I
and in the beginning
while we still snored in the dark
Light tore through the stained glass and
illuminated our minds
in varying colours
and revealed the pathways
of stone and of bronze and of iron
so that we no longer cared only about antelopes to
capture and fruits to gather
but also cattle to keep
and crops to nurture
having burned up the veil that wrapped our minds
Light separated us from ‘lower lives’
and blessed uswith the power
to read the lips of leaves and
of roots and
of barks
in order to tell those that heal from those that harm
it also armed us with rain-making guns
so that we’d take aim at ripe clouds
and riddle them with a million shots
whenever the sun made to scorch the earth
it also laced our throats with sounds that
could spur weaklings to dare death
and melt iron hearts to tears
it also cursed our fingers with the itch
to sculpt and to weave
II
as we grew in geometric progression
space and foodshrunk likewise until
the game for the fittest soon turned anarchic
dipping the land in lechery and in blood
and rousing a dark dust that grew to a mushroom cloud
and shut out Light
the ensuant seism cracked Light’s dam
which was already weakened by long disregard
drowning the world in a deluge
III
The last surviving household
soon multiplied in a hundred fold
like a genetically modified seed
strewn on a virgin field
because the flood didn’t wash off the old curse
which Light had smeared us with from the start
insatiateness and curiosity clung on
like tapeworms to our hearts
down eastward a scout found a field
where rocks gushed with milk and malt
where bees were too honey-laden to buzz
where sand grains could grow into hills
IV
The lure of fame and glory
and the glint of immortality
and the dread of dispersion
drove us sun ward
the hope of diving in the pool of Light
until our very cells fluoresce
fueled our courage
to conquer the fear of heights
and pile brick upon brick
upon brick
even as the sun scorched our backs
till they gleamed like burnished brass
even as we perspired drops of blood
panting like famished hunting dogs
we strengthened each other with smiles
while piling brick upon brick
upon brick
until the blights came and warped our minds
throwing us into hysteria
and glossolalia
in a blink of the eye
our lofty dream vaporized
forcing us to disperse and explore new sites
in little groups of like-minds
some said the plague was airborne
but most people blamed it on Light
which had panicked at our mutual bond
and our dare to strive for a higher stratum
Brief Bio
Ekweremadu Uchenna writes from Kaduna, Nigeria. He has been shortlisted for a number of prizes including Saraba/PEN Nigeria Prize for Poetry, Erbacce Poetry Prize, and RL Poetry Award. Apart from poetry, he also engages in other literary forms. His work (poetry and short stories) has appeared in Transition Magazine, Jalada, Parousia, Grub Street Journal, Coe Review, The Write Mag, Afreada, Saraba Magazine and elsewhere.
