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“Going shopping”, “In the heat of the moment”, and “Freebies”

By Solape Adetutu Adeyemi

 

 

Going shopping

My shopping basket under my arm

I go shopping again

Second time in a row

They said she must be quiet and chaste

I did not argue with them

I followed their advice to the letter

And got me a quiet, timid and chaste girl from the village

We got married…

But she became my very estranged wife less than three years afterwards

Some said it was my fault

I had brought her from the village to the city

And her eyes ‘opened’..

I had forgotten

That even the kitten has claws

I was shown all the claws, all too soon

For my timid, quiet and chaste wife

Unceremoniously

Citing ‘irreconcilable differences’

Taking with her our son

Literally disappeared off the surface of the earth.

As all attempts to locate her proved abortive

I was back to square one…bachelorhood

Hence, I took again my shopping basket

To shop for yet another one

This time…

Not quiet, timid and chaste

 

 

In the heat of the moment

And in the very heat of the moment

He made many promises

Glib promises falling over many other glib promises

Almost like a pack of cards, falling over many other cards

And you wondered at the promises

Even you chi, wondered how he would fulfill the many…glib promises

But, you chose to believe him, as he spoke…oh so very passionately!

Not long afterwards, however,

In the intense cold of the moment

He disavowed the many glib promises

Every last one of them

And you are left stone cold and betrayed

But, it is too late for you

To turn back, now

Glib promises in the heat, of the moment..

 

 

Freebies

And you cannot say no

When it is free

Heck! It isn’t your money

Why not enjoy at someone’s expense?

And you order for the green bottle

Order, over and over again

Until your body starts complaining

But, you ignore the complain

And keep drinking, and drinking and drinking

Your head reminds you you’ll end up in the gutter

Same as the last time

And the other…times

But the sight of even more green bottles on your table

Excite you, make you so heedless

That reasoning and common sense are both ignored

And drowned in even more green bottles

And then you wake to daylight

This time,

In a very unfamiliar gutter

Freebies….


Solape Adetutu Adeyemi is a dedicated professional with a Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology and a Master’s in Environmental Management. She is a passionate environmental sustainability enthusiast and a talented creative writer, with her works published in esteemed journals and magazines, including Writenow Literary Journal, TV Metro, Poetry Marathon Anthology, and The Guardian newspaper, among others.

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