Brothers At War

In Memory Of The Aguleri/Umuleri Conflict

Charred remains littering everywhere

Bloated eyes dislodging out of severed heads

Tongues sticking out of tightly shut mouths

Faces disfigured by pangs of death

Arms and legs miles away from their bodies

Blood flowing ubiquitously like a river

Bullets here and there and yonder

Every house in both communities still on fire

Women wailing over their husband’s corpse

Young girls grieving over virginity lost violently

Children mourning parents that are no more

You can feel sorrow and pain in the air

Massive darkness overwhelmed the whole land

And the gentle light took to her heels for her life

Taking tender unity and fraternity along with her

And the brothers at war; all of them no exception

Got the breathing space they so much needed

And descended upon themselves like barbarians

Levelling everything on their way with terror

Unleashing indescribable brutality on themselves

Like boorish savage beasts from the stone ages

The worst the communities have ever seen

Shocking, upsetting, distressing and disgusting

Siblings and kinsmen on each other’s throat

Thousands are gone and more are still going

Over a piece of land not bigger than the Vatican

A land that was, is and would continue to be

The land unexpectedly led to the worst of calamities

And brothers threw caution to the wind and began

Slaughtering themselves like Christmas chickens

Burning and roasting everything within sight

Not even thinking of the chain binding them

Or the sacredness of circle of life; Ubuntu

Fathers after their own sons

Mothers after their daughters

Husbands after their wives

Wives after their husbands

Children after their parents

In-laws after their in-laws

Kinsmen after their kinsmen

Everybody against everybody

And on each other’s throat

Things just suddenly fell apart like a broken calabash

And the wickedness of man’s heart went into action

Brotherly love suddenly turned into brotherly brutality

Peace vanished in a click like a candle in the wind

While chaos and calamity showed their true colours

And the land started swallowing everyone in anger

By the time they realised the depth of their madness

And the implication of their insanity and childishness

Thousands of their kinsmen and women have gone

And the land in question is mockingly still there

Staring at them with scorn and they regretted it

And vowed never to learn war no more.

Chukwunwikezarramu Okumephuna

July 11, 2009.