WEEK 13 – THE SUN GOD, Part 2 of 2

From her far-off distance, Ifegi-oku sees
Wife Number Four's protruding pregnancy
The woman shuffles on, hiding behind it
To avoid the eyes of her sister co-wives

Number Four carefully takes her seat
And in a bowl begins crushing the fish
This crackling sound is all you could hear
As each wife quietly attends to her hearth

Wife Number One – with a regal bearing –
Surpassing the others in height and age
Begins to hum a colorful tune, which blends
With the laughter of the children outside

Outside is littered with two dozen girls
Of every shape, size, hue and energy
Three arrive with buckets on heads
Filled with water fetched from the hills

Little One is pounding yam
Two others are cutting meat
Four more are chopping wood
One grown girl sings to the cows
One thin one rides on a goat
Another six are jumping rope
The laughing ones chase each other
In a silly game of catch the snake

Ifegi-oku yawns from under the shade
Just as her father does the same
Obi lounges on goat-skins in his hut
Keeping an eye on all in his yard

The very tree Ifegi-oku yawns under
Was his favorite spot for quiet slumber
But he'd stopped long ago sitting outside
For the sight of his girls sickened his eyes

Ifegi-oku stands, her yawn having faded
And takes several steps away from the shade
She plops herself down on the dusty ground
Looking up again to stare at the sun

Seeing she stubbornly faces the Sun
Even as tears spill from her eyes
Obi's head swells with rising indignation
The girl dares think she's equal to The Sun!

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