Poem: “Unequal Fingers” by Niyi Osundare

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Unequal Fingers

when the time is right
the stick will tell all ears
the silent secret of the drum

we have known famished months
and years of unnatural famine
when two grains didn’t jingle
in our bowl
and yam was gold from distant farms
cocoa buyers withheld our pay
and money monopolized the pocket
of a few
now wrinkles rack the brows
of crawling babies
the young age at thirty
our ragged roofs leak cold fears
of the coming rain

while

somewhere, not more than
a hungry shout away
chicken legs dance
at the bottom of simmering pots
blazing the torturesome smell
of festive kitchens
Senior Service children
pamper corpulent cats
with corned beef
laughing heartily at our yawning ribs

Let no one tell us again
that fingers are not equal
for we know
how the thumb grew fatter
than all the others
the funds for our community centre
built your palace
the funds for our rugged roads
bought your car
the funds for our water scheme
irrigate your banks in Europe

We are not bats
blind to the glaring happenings
of a tricky day

Soon
we shall know
how your farm stays so lush
in our season of drought
we shall know
while showing you
the gate of the town

for

when the time is right
the stick will tell all ears
the silent secret of the drum.

— Niyi Osundare

“Unequal Fingers” is a fifty-two-line poem by Professor Niyi Osundare. The poem is divided into nine stanzas.

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