Refined Products

by Ahmad Holderness

Let’s talk about the fate of garri From when a cassava stalk finds The blackness of the soil, when it’s hairy Spikes find joy in sprouting leaves after

Its roots sojourn into the deeper recess Of the mantle in the universe of nutrients. Let’s talk about growth, the process Of roots becoming bulbs, fattening

To seduce a farmer’s smile by harvest. Let’s talk about how cassava suffers; How it is soaked, how it passes a test To be smoked and dried into flakes - garri.

Then let’s talk about another journey. The way each grain reacts to water, Hot or cold, with sugar or soup, a journey That the throat will find palatable either way.

Does the mouth refuse to chew when There’s no water? How does the eye know? When it is lafun or starch? Yes, all forms Of adversity refine the cassava into a delicacy.

So of what tribe or race or religion might you be, That like garri, you weren’t planted like a seed From your father’s stalk? That your mother vomited you rather Than push you by force or by blade through The face or jaws of her bowels? So you came out Flaky like a southerner, starchy like an easterner, Or floury like a northerner, doughy like a westerner And you forget that there is a unit in unity

That is made of you and I.

About the poet

Ahmad Holderness is a poet, aspiring writer and a medical doctor. He draws inspiration from conversations with the helpless and believes poetry can be used as a medication. He is also currently experimenting with medical-Haikus.