Poem: Africa by Leony Armattoe

Dedicated to Mme. Leony Armattoe

I once saw a maiden dark and comely,
Sitting by the wayside, sad and lonely.
Oh! Pretty maiden, so dark and comely
Why sit by the wayside, sad and lonely?
‘I am neither sad nor lonely,’ She said,
‘But living, sir, among the deaf amid dumb;
Relentlessly watching these shameless dead,
Makes my warm heart grow very cold and numb.’

By R.E.G Armattoe

(Source: Donatus Ibe Nwoga (1967) West African Verse: An Anthology. London. Longman)