KOLANUT

Read Time:1 Minute, 24 Second

I.
Sin is a book everyone owns
whether educated or not
It is Kolanut
everyone chews

We all have chewn this Kola Nut
that nature placed in our mouth;
Some chew half-way and spit into the farmland
Others chew and flush down the belly

But for how long shall we keep chewing
before we spit it out?
I chew my own lobe, you chew yours
We all are Kolanut eaters

God does not chew Kolanut for He has no teeth
When shall we unpluck our teeth
from its branches and stop sipping
from this calabash of darkness?

Yes, sin may be natural
But is nature sin?

II.
One man, drunk with this Kolanut
went home and killed his brother
but his mother’s heart forgave him. Then at Thanksgiving
the man went to the barn and wrung his own neck

Who told him that fire can put out fire?
Sin is not the tool to mollify God
There is Kolanut in our mouths
We all are chewing this nut

But the drummers must get tired
The farmer must get rest
May our jaw not rust before
this nut in our mouth ruins everything we hold dear

When Kolanut intoxicates the tongue it becomes strangers with honey
Nature kept it in our mouth – this Kolanut
but it is us who decide if we should chew it
or spit it into the nearby hearth.

Written by: Olisaeloka Onyekaonwu
Edited by: Kukogho Iruesiri Samson