Late afternoon at the Africarib market,
the brothers in the know were picking up some yam
(A fresh shipment of puna yam had just arrived from the motherland)
Man cannot live on bread alone
I was more interested in the kenkey
that had also arrived that Wednesday,
Driven up from Houston by an ex-military man,
his wife was the one who prepared the kenkey
Nigerians were out in force -
yam for their swallow obviously, and much more:
Stockfish, herring and even snails.
The shop was well stocked today
One of the elders recounted a long tale
about how hard things were back home - believe him
We learned about the three year old child who was suffering,
crying when he'd last called home
The story was that two ears of corn had been prepared in the morning -
his share for the day
But that before it could be given out, a fowl -
unclear whether it was a chicken or guinea fowl,
Had gone behind him, poor thing,
and absconded with the corn
And the child had set about on the chase,
and duly tripped and fell,
And was now disconsolate,
bleeding, and still crying hours after the deed
And hungry too, for the corn was long gone
There was an object lesson in the tale
about the hardship that our people were facing,
Inflation, poverty and worse - how for do? Na wow
Now even little ones have to compete with fowls for their daily corn
Just then we saw the headlines
On the screen above the check out counter
Breaking news, school shooting... CNN...
Two children killed... many injured... More to follow
"So these people...
School don open just this week and they go shoot am...
America..."
Shaking heads all around.
Our laments about the continent were cut short - these people
I quickly settled with Walter. And made my excuses to the circle:
"I need to pick up the kids from school"
Head nods. We all sobered up promptly,
The expected banter postponed for another time
I'll admit, I drove rather fast to the school
A soundtrack for this note. Musical protection. (spotify version)
Bonus beats: Immigrant by Sade
See previously Silt and Sediment, Action Items, Prone and Defensive Accounting
File under: immigration, culture, observation, perception, social, Africa, USA, blood, violence, modernity, guns, outrage, The Rough Beast, Observers are worried, poetry, toli
Writing log: August 28, 2025
the brothers in the know were picking up some yam
(A fresh shipment of puna yam had just arrived from the motherland)
Man cannot live on bread alone
I was more interested in the kenkey
that had also arrived that Wednesday,
Driven up from Houston by an ex-military man,
his wife was the one who prepared the kenkey
Nigerians were out in force -
yam for their swallow obviously, and much more:
Stockfish, herring and even snails.
The shop was well stocked today
One of the elders recounted a long tale
about how hard things were back home - believe him
We learned about the three year old child who was suffering,
crying when he'd last called home
The story was that two ears of corn had been prepared in the morning -
his share for the day
But that before it could be given out, a fowl -
unclear whether it was a chicken or guinea fowl,
Had gone behind him, poor thing,
and absconded with the corn
And the child had set about on the chase,
and duly tripped and fell,
And was now disconsolate,
bleeding, and still crying hours after the deed
And hungry too, for the corn was long gone
There was an object lesson in the tale
about the hardship that our people were facing,
Inflation, poverty and worse - how for do? Na wow
Now even little ones have to compete with fowls for their daily corn
Just then we saw the headlines
On the screen above the check out counter
Breaking news, school shooting... CNN...
Two children killed... many injured... More to follow
"So these people...
School don open just this week and they go shoot am...
America..."
Shaking heads all around.
Our laments about the continent were cut short - these people
I quickly settled with Walter. And made my excuses to the circle:
"I need to pick up the kids from school"
Head nods. We all sobered up promptly,
The expected banter postponed for another time
I'll admit, I drove rather fast to the school
Defensive Posture, a playlist
A soundtrack for this note. Musical protection. (spotify version)
Bonus beats: Immigrant by Sade
See previously Silt and Sediment, Action Items, Prone and Defensive Accounting
File under: immigration, culture, observation, perception, social, Africa, USA, blood, violence, modernity, guns, outrage, The Rough Beast, Observers are worried, poetry, toli
Writing log: August 28, 2025