By: OGWIJI EHI-KOWOCHIO
I will no longer be seated at the table of fables
Where monkeys win beauty pageants
A snail defeats a cheetah in a marathon race
And all giraffes are mere dwarfs that could be slapped by ants
I will no longer be seated at the table of fables
Where a lion pledges servitude to a rat
A famished lion sings lullaby for a sleeping rabbit
A crocodile becomes a lifeguard at a swimming pool
And bees secrete pigment of Vernonia amygdalina*
I will no longer be seated at the table of fables
Where cats and rats seal their solemnization
In holy matrimony in the auditorium of hatred
And a pig partners with a warthog to run
A laundry and dry cleaning firm
I will no longer be seated at the table of fables
Where a fox and tortoise are tossed from side to side
By a greenhorn of tricks
And a parrot looses her oratory skills
Only to become deaf and dumb
I will no longer be seated at the table of fables
Where the nightingale’s beak suffers a dearth of notes
Butterfly competes with eagles
Attempting mind boggling heights
And all ostriches suffer from cretinism
I will no longer be seated at the table of fables
Where Nigeria is tagged a giant
But lives like a helpless infant
*Botanical name for bitter leafleaf
