By: Humphrey Ogu
In the land of my birth
In the land of my birth
We live like motherless chicks
Vulnerable to marauding hawks
In the land of my birth
We live like vagrant vultures
Scavenging through refuse dumps
Drenched and scorched at will
In the land of my birth
We live like busy ants
Working round the clock
Yet feed on crumbs from neighbours’ table
In the land of my birth
We live like coconuts
Each seed supplies its own water
Yet we pay taxes
In the land of my birth
We live like fireflies
Each beetle provides its own light
Yet we pay bills
In the land of my birth
We live like fishes out of water
Gasping and struggling for survival
In a ravaged environment
In the land of my birth
We wither like tomato plants in harmattan
Yet foreigners flower and flourish
In our wetland
In the land of my birth
We die of thirst on the island
Yet our streams and rivers
Irrigate other farms
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v Humphrey Ogu, a poet, fiction writer & journalist currently with the Information, Publications & Public Relations (IPPR) Unit of the University Port Harcourt Rivers State
