My Crushed Petal
By Dopse Jere rehashed by Ufok Ibekwe
All I had was a petal
The cover of my treasured flower
All my life I watered and kept
For the Prince of my heart alone
My petal though a delicate cover it corked
And shielded my flower to my pleasure
I secured my treasured well daily with trembling
For the dignity of my womanhood my everything
Mama had paid her dues
Day and night, she toiled
Her sweat the flower she groomed
On my flower her hope she banked.
Leo, came as a helper
I termed him my moulder
For all he looked was a maker
A Potter of my flower
And a tender of my petal
Mama saw danger and warned me
She dreaded what she felt as a mother
For she saw my chemistry for Leo was rising
Brainless infatuation was my emotion
My Leo Mama had christened
A wolf in sheep clothe hidden
That will flee when he strikes
Were Mama’s words that kept banging
Suddenly the real Leo came knocking
When my hope had gone tipping
For Leo came reaping
My petal crushed on entry
My flower devoured amidst my weeping
My soul cried in anguish
My flower Leo had turned to crimson
And my womanhood the wolf had left in tatters
My dishonour now roams the street in rumours
I wish I had listened to my Mama.
©2021
