A street divided by both the doers and the saints
A street divided by the houses: dilapidated and well structured
Divided by different tongues, practices and beliefs
Time to time, blue and red sirens come visiting
With full force, taking into captivity the doers and the saints.
Fearful mothers shout at their Saint sons “Go inside”
For fear of the blue and red sirens.
The saints, the opposite of the doers, carry their head
High up and with scornful looks reserved for the doers.
The saints – the pen and book of the street and
The doers – worshippers of the night
For it is the only time they can fees
And in the morning, tongues and pointing finger arise
Whose son did it?
Which gang did it?
Unending question and guesses
With unknown answers
The street ever busy in the morning and at night
But scanty at noon
School children come back by noon
Parents at evening
But doers do not return for they have nowhere to go.
The street never changes
Years after, a new set of saints and doers arise
Recycling the process over and over again
The street never gets tired
During my years of existence, the street remain the same
But with a different set of saints and doers
Onoberhie Janet Ojevwe is a Nigerian and a final year student of the University of Benin where she is currently in pursuit of a Bachelor’s degree in English language and Literature.