Next time...

...Omonoba...
Our people say:
Even if your mother's food is not sweet, when you go out, you must say that her food is the best. - Nigerian Proverb.
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ENJOY !

Some of  these thieves do not have souls

The ones who would steal and kill and destroy

And then leave their prints on the sand

My innocence was not pure white, like snow

Or pitch black like the moonless sky

But it was there; off-white.

And of course, they always go for the best

No one steals rotten mangoes

Or over-boiled Zobo leaves

And after I fought with the anger in me

And screamed, and pleaded

I thought the soul in you would wake

No?

No. So those your claws left a scar

I wish you had just gone with my off-white purity

I'm used to sorrow, I would have overcome it

But no, you had to leave the scar.

Who even taught you wickedness?

I swear, your teacher did not teach you well

Next time, do not scratch beyond my skin

You evil thief. No

When they ask, I'll tell my children I had a bad fall

If they are not wise enough to see the truth,

If my eyes do not drown as I lie to them

Like it does, each time I look at the scar.

DISCLAIMER: I actually acquired the scar on my right brow from a vehicle accident but I have written from the perspective of an abused woman...