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Rip van Winkle Wuz ‘Ere

By Chris Anyokwu

Lately you were sighted
in these parts, folk claiming
it’s your doppelganger, a rogue decoy
to fool the credulous believers

Without a doubt, we know of the Legend
of Sleeping Hollow, of our Prime Worker
of the controls droning at high noon
whilst locusts play havoc with our yellowing stalks

What does it matter if our laden vineyard
is turned a balding Sahara,
forest giants and undergrowth made history
in the wake of the Angel of Death?

We can only pray the season of wakefulness
is nigh at hand for Rip van Winkle
to rouse the somnabulist hordes
to stay the hand of the Invisible Visitor.

Chris Anyokwu is an Associate Professor at the Department of English, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Nigeria.

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