AS THE NATION SLEPT

I put on the television

As I sat on the sofa to relax

I stared unbelievably at the TV screen

The gory pictures moving me to tears

Dead bodies of fifty-nine young male students

Their school was attacked by insurgents

Teenage throats slashed with cutlasses

Evil murdered innocence

While the nation slept

It was the beginning of the end

More than two hundred girls went missing

In the middle of the night

For one month, the nation slumbered

Until cyberspace gave her a rude awakening

First came the denials

Then the blames

A committee was set up

A teary, dramatic episode on live TV went viral

The insurgents uploaded a video of the girls

Wearing hijabs, chanting Arabic

Then came the shock

Committee submits reports stating girls were actually missing

Defence Chief said they know the location of missing girls

But that they are being 'careful'

Weeks turned into months

A month turned into two, then three

The missing girls were all but forgotten

The daily bombings supplying immediate distraction

Leaders appear confused

Followers watch on helplessly

As vibrant lives go to waste

There is no civil war

Yet, there is no peace

Our collective lives hang by a thread

Soaked in the blood of the innocent

We pray for the best

But prepare for the worst

Explosions have ripped us apart

And fuelled hatred and suspicion

Like a raging fire

The nation burns

We stir and turn, then continue to snore

When will the bloodbath end?

When will our girls come home?

And how much longer shall we sleep?

©Kelvin Alaneme, 2014.

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