FAILED MARRIAGES

FAILED MARRIAGES Lonely only child, mother’s solitary buddySecluded to explore the world of her roomProtected from the attacks of other kidsSplashes of racial ambivalence gnawed at herMixed extraction, a faceless father, explainedWandering world where spirits inhabit bodies Youthful exuberance and costly careless jokesCollapsed, irreparable, their tried out bed of nuptialsHer nameless spouse shockingly declared, I am nothingDecreed the absolute and walked away into oblivionPeeping through the doors of the synagoguesLove expressed, was inert, a search in holy places Futility took a toll in triad of three lunar roundsThe oracle, the beating of the drums, the heart beatsAnd the beckoning hands drew her into the woodsDeeper into the hinterlands amongst the nativesFrom Casablanca to the coastal countries of the westTo Kisangani through the very heart of darkness Retraced steps from Serengeti, to where it endedAt Esuk Asinukpe, a tributary of Qua Iboe riverThere it stood, rounded earthen pot of pure wineShe drank from it, four fresh cups of sweet amethystThe fertility goddess took away her lonelinessIn return, she made a pledge for a special sacrifice A jealous sea goddess drew into the deep, her manOld hotchpotch torments, merely movie screensAnd tangs that hurt no more, like itching scarsResisting healing, seemingly pleasurable nowA scratch on the surface opens up fresh woundsIn failing marriages frowned upon by the gods…