They soon circle around a death;
rapidly after the last breath.
While the body is yet still warm,
they come, with haste, the greedy swarm.
Siblings, children, lost cousins, friends
all picking through the odds and ends.
Some wailing of a promise made
or claiming for a debt unpaid.
Who gets the house, the watch of gold?
"Much more," they say, "So we've been told."
"Secret accounts; a home abroad
The jewels left by old aunt Maude,
a diamond ring, a fancy car,
also, that etching by Renoir".
And then, the words that make all swoon:
At some time in the afternoon
executors enunciate
"There's naught left in this estate
all given to a home for dogs
a while before he popped his clogs".
Pick-A-Title, Vol 31 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Edward Ibeh
Date wrote: 24th July 2022
Silver candlesticks and other thingamabobs
Of questionable use in these modern times,
And riffraff scattered throughout in gobs
Most are reminiscent of long-ago pastimes
Of younger years spent happily gallivanting
Around the globe in search of new ventures
Now I spend entirely too much time, daunting,
Searching for my eyeglasses or my dentures
And trying to figure out how to dispose of
The knickknacks and what-nots I’ve collected
Not enough drawers I can into them shove,
On shelves they are dusty and much neglected.
I’m thinking that’s what my executors are for
So, I’ve designated a few people who will care
Who will make an inventory and open the door
For an estate sale, when I have gone over there
Time comes when my collections are scattered
To the four winds and have lost their meaning
Folks enjoyed them in my home, I was flattered,
But, now I am doing some necessary cleaning.
Written July 23, 2022
As if standing in the halls of justice,
stoically stood six sable souls—the sun
reflecting off their smooth feathered robed
coverings—a supreme regal sight indeed.
The eminence of the chief was evident
as he royally stood in front of the others
as they pondered the hour of decision.
No need to rush—theirs—a life-time deed
in upholding the purity of the laws of nature.
Above, glided three ebony hued comrades;
their stealth-like fashion as if to ensure
the security of the scene below.
The chief slowly approaches the case;
and hopping atop, he inspects the whole pile.
When his roving eyes met the stilled ones,
three waves of his feathered arms filled the air.
In response, the waiting five tip-toed to the pile;
the three hovering stealth-like companions
glided to the ground; gracefully, the feast began.
As the sunset closed down another day,
the law of nature had again been executed.
Death assured, the shame of hanging
Teardrops, sighing as we say goodbye
Like departing lovers;
Murder is committed
Though couched in legality
”Though shall not kill”
For the freeman is not free
Whose life and in death
Is a TV soap opera
The people shall shout
Like the Jews during Christ’s trial
’Crucify him; crucify him.’
Dreams once hidden, now appeared,
dreams of an abandoned city,
distortions that mangled me
are my insolvable presentiments,
perhaps, they are just greetings
from hyenas in the night.
Oh, why I get them unbidden?
It's streets glided into each other
like lifeless labyrinths,
exhausting continuation or
logic of a lost place?
It's houses only waited
as numb, deaf witnesses,
while the sky was abundant of yellowish grey.
In the reality of anguish and trepidation,
yellow ashes were densely concentrated,
ghostly flux or enigma?
In the distance,
I heard tramps of a horse,
or is it another deception?
He is quiet,I am quiet,
sound of lie or life!
I am now his only comrade,
for we wandered through yellow ashes alone,
for we understood our prehistoric calls,
in this microcosm we are only brothers!
Odd set of eyes stared at me,
the most soulful eyes,I ever saw.
What are you trying to tell me,
when everything is already said?
Yellow fog frightened me,
bringing smell of Thanatos,
awaken conscience of executors in this Golgotha?
Executors and victims dance in yellow ashes
while conscience of the humankind
is withheld on the Balkan soil.
There's a wail,for thngs are not well,
At my back there's an alarming bark;
All I can see are traitors and penned thieves
Protected by armed men;
Amidst euphora of an extavanganza.
At a colourful swearing-in-ceremony.
Here is a sad looking man
Lamenting with a weepng heart,
''Why are you depressed and alum?''
''We're mourning this morning,''he said.
We're sripped of our birth right,
The freedom to vote our leaders
Is forfeited by our infamous rulers...
To implant all puppets,
They can control like electronc robots;
Nay!We're hookwinked and robbed
By the barbarism of this baba-rism;
An affluent is now relegeted to a beggar,
Yesterday an owner,today a scapegoat;
Again,a mandate is stolen from us.
With the use of machineries
Far from our reach...the police and the
Independent Notorious Executors of Con,
So,the conspiracy is done;
So,the mandate is stolen;
So,the scam unveiled;
Amidst frowns and scorn,
Amidst world-wide disdain,
Amidst scowls and condemn.
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