Hannah Faleti I. has spent a lifetime in Nigeria. She is currently living in the cosmopolitan city of Ibadan, north of Lagos and the Gulf of Guinea. She begins law school in March of 2018 at Obafemi Awolowo University where she hopes to become an advocate for civil rights. Her poetry and writing reflect the grand dynamics of her homeland of Nigeria. Hannah will curate a weekly series of postings from Nigeria for Introvert Press.
Please visit Hannah’s Facebook Author Page to interact with the author.
Feb 1, 2018
Corruption is slowly eating up Nigeria and sadly no one is ready to put an end to it.
Here is a poem I wrote about it.
RAVENOUS
Why have you come, you ravenous beast?
You feed on our flesh, you tear our guts
We are your prey, the monster we fear
You strip us of our pride
You snatch our dignity from us
We run to those who say they hunt you
Only to know they nurse you
You have made our mothers weep all day
Our fathers bite their fingers in dismay
Your howls have come to steal our sleep
Why have you come, you ravenous demon?
You ignore the dried tears on our cheeks
You turn deaf ears to the cries of young ones
Waylaying them on the way to the future
Our blood quenches your thirst
In those eyes, we see pure evil flames
Those claws have made marks unforgotten
Long fangs bringing along nightmares
Why have you come, you ravenous destroyer?
I wish we all live to see your end
But to face you, we all abscond
Endless fear pushes us against walls
With painful heart, we have embraced you to stay
Jan 25, 2018
Rape cases are getting worse in Nigeria. Nowadays, men believe their hungry libidos will be satisfied when they force themselves on young girls (1 year and above). It’s really sad, tainting those ignorant, innocent girls.
TOUCHED
I’m the newly molded clay.
I’m the new shimmering fabric.
I’m the new seed, bringing more.
I’m the precious stone, untouched.
As the clay, the flood has come to wash me away.
As the fabric, pain has come to rip me apart.
I’m no longer the seed, the wind found me.
No longer precious, the stone has been touched.
I’m the wall that bears the cracks.
I’m the broken pitcher, who shall pick me up?
I’m the withered flower, trampled, destroyed.
I’m the Queen, I’ve lost my kingdom.
As the wall, I shall soon fall, soon crumble.
As the pitcher, the grasses shall choke me in.
As the flower, years shall make me vanish.
As the Queen, I’ve no pride, no crown.
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Jan 18, 2018
QUEEN
Pride is your blood
Beauty is your skin
Your dignity unsoiled
Courage, your bones
Kindness crowns your heart
Of pure joy, your smile speaks
The damsel of men’s hearts
Crowned One of strength
Pain is your meal
Down your throat, the pills of dismay
How will I not revere you?
Woe is me if I uncherish you
Blistered palms cradling me
Golden tears, they flowed for me
You tend my life’s flames
While yours, I see, flickering
The gates of future opened wide
At your feet lay broken barriers
Little is what I can say of you
Boundless, eternal, unsaid
Time is here, it yearns for you
Death steals your breath, you’re fading
But Queen, even after you’re gone
You have a kingdom, indestructible
It shall stand through years
It shall bear your name
