They will let you out through a dark corner,
after putting you in spaces you do not inhabit,
spaces you would never occupy.
They will let you out Mansir;
into a virtual space far from home.
They will let you out into a world of questions
and like an equation the world will ask you D-y?
It’s a stupid world created by a genius called god.
The dumb population wielding smart-phones
will ask why you painted your nails,
why you wore Barbie’s clothes,
yet come with a factory fitted penis.
They will proffer exorcism from the spirits,
the spirits that inhabit you.
They want to rid you of spirits
averse to conformist ideas,
spirits that cause you to crave a walk
off the tapered edge of the flat earth;
yes, their earth is flat.
They will let you out Mansir,
into a world without pencils to line your eyes;
they don’t want you to see ghosts.
They will let you out into darkness,
into a rigid world of roles and rules,
a world where dogs have more rights than men,
where god has made it all
and there is no room for creativity.
They will let you out
Mansir; and no one will apologize.
They will let you out, set you forth before dawn,
they will lead you through a corridor in the courts,
after the judge has found in you no flaw.
They’ll walk you through the blue door
disappointed that they cannot sate
the mob’s thirst for blood anymore.
They will let you out
Mansir, they will; but only through the back door.
Soonest Nathaniel is a poet and spoken word artist. He is the author of “Teaching My Father How To Impregnate Women,” selected as winner of the 2017 RL Poetry Award. He was poet Laureate for 2014 Korea Nigeria Poetry Festival. His poems appear or are forthcoming in Rattle, Silver Blade, The Pedestal Magazine, FIYAH, Silver Blade Poetry, Northridge Review, Praxis Mag, Raven Chronicles, Wiki Column, Saraba, Loudthotz, Northridge Review, Reverbnation, Elsewhere, Scintilla, Erbacce UK, Kalahari Review, Sentinel Nigeria, and many more.
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