Once upon a time when my heart belonged to me
When it lay fallow and grew wild as a virgin land
Bringing forth grasses and shrubs and trees
Lo, the grasses bowed to the shrubs
And the shrubs paid obeisance to the trees
And all the trees genuflected to a tree
But that tree kowtowed to none, for it was the iroko
And my conveyor to Earth was it
So, one day came a sheen caramel-skinned lady
The one with the long and spotless legs
That invited eyes to a feast of lust poised on pinnacles
Yet my heart was with me, for I wouldn’t let go
Over to my side she sashayed, and held my hand in hers
Still, my heart remained mine, for I wouldn’t let go
Then her mouth went agape, calling angels down
As she sang me a serenade, her voice mocking the nightingale’s
Thereafter, my heart ceased to be mine
For she’d mowed the grasses as well as the shrubs
Installed herself as the iroko, to which all were subject
Cultivated the land with blossoming flowers
Chrysanthemum and daffodils and jasmine, the tale went
Of how I had become a leasee in my own land, she the leasor
“Give me back my land,” I wept and pled
She did, but my heart would never be wholly mine again
~~~Omoya
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