Aba is a street in Ogbor Hill at that time of the year when heaven weeps copiously on my rooftops – at every two-pole sits a puddle, tadpoles dance offbeat to the melody of nature for the digestive delights of wandering chickens.
Aba is an aerial view of Owerri-Aba – a cluster of brown roofs spread across her plain expanse. Happy kids behind television screens staring at their faint reflections; no power.
Aba is Ohanku road, by all loved – lying stale like the carcass of an old lady begging for flowers dipped in tar, and a hand to mend the broken edges of her tombstone lest vibrant souls navigate carefree into the potholes that decorate her lane.
Aba is Ariaria – a hood lined with merchants coming and going, acclimatized to the beautiful mess of their neighbourhood, & inhaling the aroma of money exchanged for wares fashioned with crude tools by hands that were dipped in empty piggybanks before cockcrow.
Aba is a story in motion pictures, no commercial break, story-blend of neo and retro that has no end.
So, on and on it reels, the wheel of time, churning out plot twists of a beautiful mosaic of everything good, bad, ugly – Aba!
JAACHI ANYATONWU is a poet, editor, and publisher living in the suburbs of Aba. He is passionate about discovering new voices and mentoring emerging poets. He is also a fierce advocate for the boy child and sexually molested. He is @jaachianyatonwu on Facebook and Twitter and @jaachi_anyatonwu on Instagram.
