Will Things Ever Change?

One Two, buckle my shoe. Let’s walk from school and spend our transport money. Let’s make loud funny jokes about barrow pushers and run when they find out. Let us throw stones at cows and their herds men or herd boys and threaten them when they threaten us. Let’s play football on the street till our legs become as white as our school socks. Three four, knock at the door, Sanusi is our friend, he might be poor and sell local candies, we like him still. He always has wise words to tell us and his funny accent of switching letter P with F always makes us laugh.

Five, Six, let’s take night strolls, hike the nearby mountains to see the city lighted with bulbs far and near. Let’s play hopscotch in front of Mama Tobis security lighted fence, let’s dance to the grinding machine uproar and marvel at the silence when it stops. Lets run across cars moving close and make them blast their horns and rain insults on us for trying to cause accidents. Let’s race with tyres till our hands turn black and when our parents call us in for dinner, let’s cry for hours until they let us out again, or refuse.

Seven, Eight, gun shots, don’t walk the street at night, herds men are no men to joke with, they are highly profiled, check the news papers and news reports. Nine, Ten, lock the gates at nine, switch of the security lights and keep the whistle right under your pillows. Don’t answer to strangers on the street and when you see people running, run towards any church around. Peace is a bygone quietude, a white flag joined with a red banner.

LARDO