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.
