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
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.
Please
Login
to post a comment
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a
Premium Membership.
