End-Of-Year Outing
By George Amadi
Low-sugar frothy malt
drink
In recycled can
chilled
Right beside a chicken
Pie set before me
Sat, a straw, long
Like a radio aerial,
Sticking out from it
My vantage-view table
At a popular eatery
Monitored, as
It were, uninvited
Flies to a meal
Kept at bay
It seemed.
Yet, two on the lunch
buzzed,
In utter disregard
To health concerns
Of this customer,
Whilst the pipe,
Like an enforcer
Standing by,
Into an observer,
As harmless as ever
Got transformed when
It mattered most.
But without
hesitation,
Not one to be finicky,
Into a juicy pie
Worth its name
I dug my teeth,
Happy to waste time,
Relieved, watching
Closing-hour
Traffic
Build up.
End-of-year
marking, pupils
Of a private school,
In a uniform hat
All decked,
A common bow-tie
To boot,
From their luxury bus
In twos alighted,
The joint stormed,
Every bit of food
Then, snapped up.
Not long after making
Good their exit
Than did
The absent-minded
Rich boys
Return, only
To ask after
IPhones, Tablets,
Automobile-keys,
Lizard-skin wallets,
Among other
Costly belongings,
In a hurry left
behind.
Lagos, Dec. 7, 2014