When pride feeds on self vanity,
Scorn for another is birthed!
Yes! You will see pride sucking voraciously,
On the self respect of another.
As a vampire drains its victim,
So does contempt drain
Its victim of any reason,
Leaving a shell behind,
Just because of uncharted familiarity.
In my ailing bed I lay,
Sick to my bones,
My eyes sunken,
My skin like shriveled paper on bones,
My energy, an illusion,
What do you think ails me?
I looked up and saw them.
They have come to take me finally.
A visit I so much welcome.
All these years, I had waited for your words to praise the labor of my hands.
All these while, I scrubbed the floor with my royalty because I thought that was what submission meant,
Hahaha! How foolish I was!
I left my throne for scum,
And in the end I wasn't fit for a king,
After you ruined me
With your scorn for my origins.
Your attention I misunderstood for care,
Your oily words, I misunderstood for appreciation,
Your contempt, I misunderstood as correction.
But today, I lay on this ailing bed,
Ready to welcome the cold hands of my approaching visitor,
Because your contempt finally drained the life out me.
My regret is that,
You won't miss me,
Because in the next room,
You are sheathed in the body of your next victim.
VICTORIA UKPAKA
