CHILDHOOD | By Vikki-Pen

Victoria Seidu (Vikki-Pen)

The sprawling undulating terrain,
the dizzying road only sheered upward
from one noisy market to another
which was as stolid as the canon
himself
Spirits  and ghommids that made
children permanently nervous

The air hung heavy with the
perfumes of lemon leaves, guavas,
mangoes, sticky with the sap of
boum-boum and the secretions
of the rain tree ripened into a desiccated
yellow, collapsing like the face of the old men


The appearance of a dance
and the bell began pealing, sometimes
they danced rather than marched
without breaking rhythm
My toys and games soon palled
but the laughter still rankled

Longer and longer, pausing over
object which became endowed with
new meaning forms
Even dimensions as soon as silence
descended on their environment
i became a little uncertain of my
role as celebrant and host
Still, i took  my place among the
others and awaited the parade
of good things.

©Vicky-Pen 2018