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The restaurant at the foot of a hill
The restaurant stood at the foot of a hill. I had passed there several times without noticing it, partly because I was new to the area. Initially, I was skeptical about the quality of their meals. But they gave me good reasons to become a regular customer. Lunch time, you were sure to find me…
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Termite mound, the story of persistance
I have witnessed mankind’s countless fruitless efforts to destroy termite mounds. Slash down the mounds, the termites rebuild. Slash again, the termites rebuild and rebuild. You hit them, they keep coming. Tiny insects, of which five can be squashed under the thumb of a human, build giant houses for themselves, houses sometimes taller than the…
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Single mom
Single mom, with two children, from different fathers. From a distance, you might think she’s promiscuous, or deserved what she got, or wasn’t smart enough. Draw closer, hear her out. You’ll realize it could have been you, or any other person who never wished to end up there. When we meet a romantic partner, with…
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Snow-capped mountains
Snow-capped mountainsSnaky pathsSoldiers thrudging through themLike driver antsMiles from homeLonging for all the little pleasures back homeThey once took for grantedSome mutter words to a rosary on their neck,Some chutter indistinct sounds to curved figures in their handsSome kiss amidst tears photos of loved oneswounded or blown apartThey hope a piece of them will returnTo…
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The good old days
Back then our TVs used antennae usually tied to some little pole nailed to roofs of houses, and for some strange reasons, it was always in the middle of a movie or football match, when the action was intensely suspenseful, that there would be a sudden community-wide power outage, a blackout that blackened our hearts…
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We are one family
Like two tough bulls, two men are locked in a game of draughts under the shade of a baobab tree, surrounded by a cocktail of nationalities, so typical of crowds in West Africa’s Ivory Coast. Friends and passersby watch in suspense against a backdrop of Zouglou music playing from a bar nearby. The game ends.…
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dry your tears
He’s asked that she dry her tears and smilebut how can she, in the midst of so much pain?while they talk, she’s distractedby the singing of her patientsa favorite song of her lover gone on a long journeywhose many letters have trickled to a fewthe song comes to herlike some lonesome puppy recognizing its master…
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The letter to Daouda
she thought she carried good newsshe’s been sent to deliver a lettershe, an illiteratethere in his office she stoodwaiting for him to read and replythe wilting joy on the face of the readertells her something isn’t rightslowly, the initial smile on his face fermentsinto a sad, bitter face, polluting her initial joy tooshe waits as…
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The anus of a fowl
He was planted among us on purpose, but we did not know. He came across as honest, complaining just like the rest of us of the hardships we all faced. We assumed he was one of us. It started with my resignation. He was the first to call. I still remember where I was when…
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Fireworks and chilly winds
fireworks, chilly windsI lay in bed, lying on my sidefacing the open windowa moonless sky lit with sparkling starsChristmas is a month awaybut I can smell it miles awaythinkingof all the thingsand peoplethat have come and gonethinkingof my life nowand what is to come ………………………………………………….. Email:Benjaminnambu1@gmail.com WhatsApp:+233 541 824 839
