The Song of Canaan

By: Edith Knight Magak

Where

is the wrath of the oppressor?

Where

are they who

injured, snared, and captured

us.


Where

is the rod of the tormentor?

Where

are they who

flogged, pierced and clobbered

us.


Where

are they who

like pottery- mercilessly shattered us!

like chalkstone-mercilessly crushed us!

while we cried, gasped and panted

like women in childbirth.


Where,

Are they who

lifted clubs against our members,

on our head and in our mouth.

pounded us back to sender,

the boots of the boys in blue.

Like boiling Sulphur- our tears stream.

In the streets it’s all a blast,

raging fury- rampant fire.

The city turns to crust,

like rubble-goes down with us.


Are our oppressors these

Who now mumble out their speech

from the dust where they lay?

Licking the dust at our feet  

dreading, weeping and begging

us.

 

Are our tormentors these

Who shroud as we blaze

 like flaming fire?

Begging us to stop


They are! They are!

We won’t! We won’t!



                 


Edith Knight Magak (she/her) is a creative writer whose work has appeared in The Lazy Women, Brittle Paper, Meeting of Minds UK, Critical Read, Urban Ivy, Jellyfish review among others. A slush reader at Flash Fiction online, She also works as a literary journalist for Africa in Dialogue. Edith is currently based in Nairobi, Kenya. Find her on Twitter @oedithknight