WEEK 24: AT LAST – THE RULES OF US, Part 5 of 5

"But alas, I am bound by the Rules Of Us.
Curse The Gods and their wicked wisdom!"
Obi wishes dearly to be done with it
He sighs heavily then begins to speak

"In all my life, I could never dream
A son would be harmed of my very own hands.
To behold two, was too much to bear.
Were it not for Osé, I should be lost too.

"I imagined taking them and fleeing far away,
To a land with perhaps different rules?
But that in itself is a fanciful thought.
Rules are the same wherever you go.

"I took your kin to the Mighty River.
Waded to the center as the Rules dictate …"
Ifegi-oku listens to her father's tale
Her heart breaking as his breaks too

Horror is her eyes at his words' end
"How, father, could you do this thing?!"
"Strength lies within that is oft' not known.
I'd give all you girls for just one boy."

"All of us, father?!" she asks in awe
Obi doesn't hear, so lost in his thoughts
The forest, for once, is strangely quiet
Paying respect to his tortured soul

"I think 'tis wrong," she breaks his thoughts
To drown two boys born of your loins.
Did you not say this is forbidden?
This is forbidden! You said this!"

Obi's chest rises to be screamed at thus
"But I said also," he drowns her out
"Twins are forbidden, they are forbidden!
Spirits are single, not clove in two!"

"I can see no wrong in the lives of two
Who are as innocent as hatchlings in a barn."
"You've said 'wrong' twice, young Amaka.
Say it not thrice while I stand before thee!

"The Rules were created to guide our clan.
You cannot understand the wisdom in them.
You are yet young and so should not query
Traditions that were here long before thee."

As if to confirm, the forest thrills
Filled with the noise of the Forest People
Ifegi-oku at length bows her head, saying,
"Very well, father, let it be as you say."

Obi frowns deeply, sure he detects
Insolence beneath her lowered head
When she is tired, she lifts her head up
To behold her father is long since gone

She sees also that night falls fast
She gathers quickly her pile of wood
Never looking back, she flees the trees
Filled with the chatter of its Forest People

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