Africa's Puberty

AFRICA’S PUBERTY When puberty sets in, The wind feels good on A little leg and thigh, Some belly button And budding bottom. Tattooed dames, Sexily renamed From Elizabeth And Isabelle, To Lizzy And Bella, Storm into the world; Boobs growing as fast as hearts To be squeezed and broken. Carrying heads of baskets Filled with liquid counsel, Speeding off on the fast lane On the high way to remorse, Surely to crash home On the streets of Accra Ghana Or the ghettos of old town Bamenda Like those of downtown Soweto As teenage mothers Or as daughters of prophets With gowns and scarfs Over their scars. Palms raised in supplication For husbands of any sort For whom they know They will never bear kids.