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 </div><p></p>Drumbeats,<br>
The voice of the silent gods.<br>
Papa is still without, digging trenches<br>
And mama fried akara balls<br>
At the village outskirt.
<p>The insistent pounding of the drum<br>
Caused my head to weigh a ton;<br>
But papa swift feet seems slow today<br>
And mama sharp tongue is muffled by silence.</p>
<p>I will answer the call of the gods;<br>
And bid my head, stop pounding.<br>
But fear gripped me<br>
In its cold embrace.</p>
<p>The gods want a lamb<br>
And a dame to birth a name,<br>
A fame to shame the lame<br>
And bring back the lost glory.</p>
<p>My gender dictates me a female<br>
And my fairness of heart and blood made me eligible;<br>
But papa is without, digging trenches<br>
And mama fried balls of akara at the outskirt.</p>
<p>Drumbeats!<br>
The gods submerged my confusion.<br>
In the single drone of their voice,<br>
The decision is made,<br>
But mine isn’t.</p>
<p>I am to be the King’s maiden wife<br>
And birth the name to shame the lame;<br>
But my soul lingers with Adio,<br>
Who had taught me to fish at the village river</p>
<p>My spirit fried akara with mama<br>
And my mind digged papa’s trenches.<br>
But my body, the gods have taken<br>
To birth the death of my youth.</p>
<p>The gods have spoken;<br>
The white lamb was slaughtered<br>
And its blood cleansed my unwashed body<br>
And trifles were forced down my throat to cleanse it from vile.</p>
<p>Papa digged trenches still;<br>
Mama’s voice drowned out the gods’ own:<br>
She never stopped talking;<br>
And I became a maiden of no virtue:<br>
My honour lie wasted upon a slab of cold marble.</p>
<p>Later on,<br>
Papa’s feet digged trenches in the street<br>
And mama’s tongue knows no stop<br>
(the echoes still fresh in mind).<br>
She fried akara balls no more.</p>
<p>My soul died with Adio;<br>
My spirit is fried in mama’s tears;<br>
My mind is buried in papa’s trenches<br>
And my body belonged to the gods still.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>To be continued…</em></p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;">Read The Full Series:<br>
<a href="http://poetry.wrr.ng/carrion-for-the-gods-1-the-sacrifice-by-adeosun-oluwapelumi/" target="_blank">CARRION FOR THE GODS 1: THE SACRIFICE</a><br>
<a href="http://poetry.wrr.ng/carrion-for-the-gods-2-a-travellers-travail-by-adeosun-oluwapelumi/" target="_blank">CARRION FOR THE GODS 2: A TRAVELLER’S TRAVAIL</a><br>
<a href="http://poetry.wrr.ng/carrion-gods-3-silent-observer-adeosun-oluwapelumi/" target="_blank">CARRION FOR THE GODS 3: THE SILENT OBSERVER</a><br>
<a href="http://poetry.wrr.ng/carrion-for-the-gods-4finale-prophecy-rebounds-by-adeosun-oluwapelumi/" target="_blank">CARRION FOR THE GODS 4: PROPHECY REBOUNDS</a></p>
<p><figure id="attachment_19663" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-19663" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://poetry.wrr.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/A-TRAVELLERS-TRAVAIL-by-Adeosun-Oluwapelumi.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-19663" src="http://poetry.wrr.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/A-TRAVELLERS-TRAVAIL-by-Adeosun-Oluwapelumi.jpg" alt="THE SACRIFICE by Adeosun Oluwapelumi" width="1024" height="668" loading="lazy"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-19663" class="wp-caption-text">THE SACRIFICE by Adeosun Oluwapelumi</figcaption></figure></p>
 
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