Portion - universityofafricanart.org

And people’s rights
First you could not tell
Whether it is head or tail
Whether impeding birth
Would come with death
Of mother or child
Or both charms.
And when joy arrived
And both survived
Brutal journey from other world
Into uneven terrains of this cold
Celebrations must wait
Until a later date
Announcements were made
Baby dressed paid
Hearty congratulations received
With no intention to deceive
But no goods were given to parents
Who were still watched by death’s agents
No names provided to child
Still too tender and mild
Until seventh day.
It was too early to say
Then it became more certain
That baby was sure bargain
That birthed child was real
That the childbirth was a deal