Dark, a Poem by Eniola Oyetayo

Dark skin, melanin

Clearheaded and educated

And now obviously frustrated

From all the history books rewritten

I know you expect us to keep on the way you illustrated

But the elders came through—got our ways right

And thankfully highlighted the facts you sugarcoat

Black being misled and misguided.

“Invade, loot, rape and enslave”

They’d say they brought us out of our “caves”

Still the method of our ancient constructions you have not explained.

You are greedy and you see in us greatness you cannot attain

You masquerade, infiltrate

You plant evil seeds,

You corrupt

Na you wey shit for shrine.

Our suffering, rioting, hungering, and our demise

Seem to be an artfully orchestrated game of your design

As our poverty, mortality, illiteracy seems to be on the rise

And the economics of our continent is in decline

You take the best of minerals from the mine

But still, backstab us and regard us as dirty swine

I know you feel certain elements have shifted in this, our time,

You messed with this generation of mine,

Put our sanity on the line

So remember on every evening that you’re sipping wine

Reminiscing on how your plans aligned

Just like the stars align.

Don’t forget the hands of karma would never misalign.

Na you wey shit for shrine – You desecrated the shrine (holy place)

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Oyetayo, Eniola (preferably Oblivion) is a 21-year-old, student of meteorology and climate science in Lagos, Nigeria. He is an Afrocentric creative inspired by the originality of African culture and civilization. When not writing he listens to music, reads novels, and researches history.

You can reach him on Twitter @ankarawhore