Bullet-Proof Vest
Bullet-proof vest cannot prevent the envy of friends –
Their hatred, betrayal – which leads to stabs at the back
It is helpless when rivals badmouth and murder one’s character
Neither can it prevent the plan to extinct one
By colleagues at work, concealed in pleasant smiles
While wining and dining at a restaurant
Nor reveal subordinates who backbite to the belief of outsiders
After a song of praise dedicated to one’s presence
Bullet-proof vest cannot alert one against the food poison of a wife
Or her infidelity
Neither can it avert the conspiracy of a brother,
A close range ghostly ghastly attack!
It will not stop the abuse and cruelty of a maniac, psycho father
Or oppose the penetration of the doubt
About the paternity of a child known only to the mother.
When one’s wayward daughter,
With the help of her lover boy, robs one of his possessions
And when a lost son, who had defied all upbringings,
Pays assassins against one’s name because he is the heir-apparent,
Bullet-proof vest rests!
When one’s maiguard and housemaid
Collaborate with their street friends to “clear and forward”
One’s belongings because “Oga too stingy”,
Where is Bullet-proof vest?
Much of the battle of life isn’t fought with guns and grenade
A battle set on one’s ignorance
Against familiar faces
Needs no bullet-proof vest
Why wear one?
(maiguard means a particular type of security guard from the northern part of Nigeria while oga simply means the boss.)
* Kayode Isaac is a reporter for a society magazine in Lagos, Nigeria.
