Vincent P. Magombe

"CAGED..."
(By Vincent P. Magombe, June 1995)

<In many African countries writers and journalists are persecuted by the State for merely exercising their right to free expression. Quite often, the rulers fear the writer’s PEN and WORD... for their great potential to raise the people’s consciousness... for their power to transform society’s attitudes and minds! In 1995 Nigerian author Ken Sarowiwa was executed by the military for exactly this reason. The poem is in his honor

Up and Down...
    I walked in my cage -
         Listening to the slowing beat of my heart!
The guards outside had ears...
         Yet, they couldn’t hear -
            The clinking sounds of rusting chains!
Chains -
           On my neck...
  Chains -
             On my legs...
      Chains -
                 On my hands...
          Chains -
                      Of Death!
Chains...
      Hooked on me -
                    For their Master’s joy!
Chains -
      To humble me -
                    And make me a human toy!
The guards outside had ears...
      Yet, they couldn’t hear -
              The clinking sounds of rusting chains!
I hoped they could, at least, -
                            Smell Something...
In the dampness -
               Of their stinking mess -
There was -
               The Smell of Indifference -
Of those -
               Who wouldn’t dare to care!     

Vincent P. Magombe
Copyright by Vincent P. Magombe