CURFEW: FOR OUR NIGERIAN GIRLS

I wish this could be as simple

as broken rules

about

the street lights are on

and you’re late

about

git’cho butt inside

it’s dinnertime

come clean up this room

finish that homework

as easy-peasy as fed-up mamas

snatchin’ back curtains

throwin’ windows open

hands on hips

peerin’ down the block

to growl your name and shout:

“I’m not gon’ tell you again!”

while you whiz by on your bike

plead for just five more minutes

and she smiles

chuckles

shakes her head

remembers her youth

her pleads

her eyes soften

and she lets you ride

would do anything

for it to be as “uh-oh”

as fire-breathin’ daddies

sportin’ shiny brass knuckles

waitin’ impatiently at front doors

for never-be-good-enough boys

to bring you home from first dates

that their mouths blessed

cuz you begged

but their hearts didn’t

would much rather this be about

200+ mischievous girls

quietly convergin’

and sneakin’ off

on a secret forbidden journey

fingers strung together

like paper-doll chain

squelchin’ the high-pitched giggles

ticklin’ their ribs

runnin’ free

wind coolin’ their backs

sun meltin’ the cares in their hearts

trekkin’ with no fears

gon’ be right back

gon’ be all right

cuz they got each other

but these wishes are in vain

the street lights have been on for months

and still

none of you are where you’re supposed to be

cuz you were force-fed this broken curfew

into the Sambisa

into marital slavery

and you’ve been gagging

on the bane the forest’s bowels

on coerced $12.00 vows

trying to unbind the silence in your throats

to find enough voice to scream for help

for directions to lead you home

from the detour of Haram

the government’s search has ebbed

and we will not rely on them

to continue to care enough to find you

their time may have been cut

but these clocks in our hearts

will remain ticking

  

we

are your spiritual search party

at night

in our uneasy sleep

our snores

are surveillance helicopters

fueled by the inferno in our blood

that keeps our tanks from running dry

our rapid-eye movements are searchlights

in the murk of our dreams

powered by determination

to illuminate your path

show you the way to freedom

and they will never burn out

no matter how long the nights

how hard the days

piece by piece

we will link the jigsaw of you

back together

rip you from the filthy grips

of the insurgents that body-snatched you

from your rights

from your school

from your learning

from your homes

and we will annul you from your captors

interlock your fingers

to remind you of oneness

of sisterhood

of love

of safety

of strength in cultural numbers

and lead you to your dwellings

where the street lights will beam

and mamas and daddies will be waitin’

impatiently at front doors

to envelop you

inhale your scent

stroke trust into your faces

nurse your spirits back to certainty

revel in your touch

tribal dance in your smiles

to exhale

to live again

©2014 Charlene E. Green
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