Festering Wound

On the banks of river folks gathered solemnly Where in repose lay the body of his father; Dry dead-wood was stacked in layers they built, Fire was crackling, burning, heads were bowing, Memorializing deeds in voices of the elders-- That is how cremation was done in his village. He recalls now how they walked river’s edge Where wildflowers bloomed, animals grazed As farmers tilled rice fields in dawn’s silence, Much as his father did until he died that day. Frozen he stood there, thousand burns unseen, Inflamed in veins as he looked to his mother Gasping for words choking youthful innocence As tearfully they hugged fearful of the burden Bewildering his mother into stilled unknown. Look at him, for a glimpse of child-subjugated Who parted in hopes of altering course of fate, Grateful to those who made room for his stay, In a city where wealth was sign of intelligence, Poverty denigrated~ tantamount to ignorance, And class defined by the ancestry of bigoted; There he found shelter, offered only as a loan, Love not included in covenant of sustenance, And mighty price required to learn existence: Humiliated endurance, humbled-subservience… That even in freedom-won, never sets one free, Suffocating still in those embers carbon-fumed, Life robbed of childhood throttling pitied tears, Adulthood festering wounds of acrid memories Spurned by summers and dejected by autumns, Parching his life’s springs, stunting his seasons, Caging his heart where his father’s ashes burn. March 14, 2022 Placed 1st: A Brian Strand 1096 Placed 1st: Pick-A-Title, Vol 29 – Poetry Contest Sponsor: Edward Ibeh Title chosen: Festering Wound