Playful harmattan winds blow,
flitting though the branches of whispering sentinel trees,
sweeping dust and sand into the eyes of those who venture out.
Run down houses, many a thieves den,
where the light flickers and goes out ever so often,
and people buy kegs of water from yaro boys cause the taps don't run.
Eeriely quiet a place, haunted
by rowdy students looking for empty rooms to get laid in
and smoking weed on d crumbling fence while a train lumbers its way past.
Down broken paths & winding roads,
cloaked by the soothing presence of friendly spirits,
a warm bed, a candlelit room to return to. My sanctuary, my home.
Author notes
In Northern Nigeria, yaro boys are a group of rascal boys who either refuse to school (western & Islamic) or have parents who can't afford it. As a result they end up doing
odd jobs so they can contribute to the families earnings or as a means of earing an allowance.
The Harmattan is a dry and dusty West African trade wind which blows between November and March, the period when other places experience winter.
This poem is about IDC, a civil servant quarters, in Zaria where I rented a room while I was in University. It's the first place I ever felt at home
A contest entry
- Where is Your Home? by Cinnarry.
1750 points, ended October 24, 2007, 13 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 9 of 9
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a warm bed, a candlelit room to return to. My sanctuary, my home.
humz, writing about the problems of Society is never been a easy job,
you have done really good, and difficult vocab
Hey Sangsue,
Where have you been, please come back na
by
the poet of hearts and beautiful words
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nice poem this! reminds me so much of home and how much i loved the harmattan when i was growing up! of course i never experienced the northern one but the little we had in the south was okay for me! nice one!
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yeah havnt been home in awhile either. thanks for the comment. glad im not the only hoping for a proper Nigerian harmattan season
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Well... I think that it was a little choppy... but i found the emotions and word choice poured into this to be very deep and it was just very well written.
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Lol..
I thought it was choppy in places too. Even my boyfriend said so
thing is IDC was like that too plus
I figured its one of poems that I'll edit in the not too distant future. Thanks for the lovely comment. Its the emotion I wanted people to feel
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I have a friend, Adora Nzeblie who is also Nigerian. She speaks of the "The Harmattan", and claims to miss it considering Ohio winters. Your poem paints vivid imagery. What University do you attend? My brother got a Master's from the University of South Africa. I love poetry that takes me away from my little box. Thank you for that.
Mom
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"The Harmattan is a dry and dusty West African trade wind"
maybe you do, maybe you don't, realize just how powerful this line is. Namaste
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This is a beautiful write! you are a very talented writer.
GBY
SilverButterfly
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Thank you for the helpful notes, very vivid descriptions in a very well written piece, the voice tells and the imagery shows a wonderful story about a place and why it was so special to you... excellent...PK
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