My Sister's Boy
My Sister’s Boy
The day my sister’s boy was born
she poured honey and whiskey
into a pan, stirred warmed palm oil in,
mixed them with her hands several times,
then smeared it all over the boy’s body.
‘This is how I will love you’, she said,
as if to herself, her hands
rubbing his groin and buttocks.
He studied her awhile
and giggled, then stuck a thumb
into his pink mouth and sucked it
with his eyes closed.
‘It’s exactly how I will love you, baby’.
Someone ran outside and fixed
a white flag onto the roof to announce
the birth. Women came with pails
of home brew. Someone sacrificed a bull.
Still we had to wait and wait for rain
in order to place the infant out
and leave him there till he toughened,
enough to take the name the tribe would place
in him. He smelled the air and smiled.
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