An Ode to Okpa, Nsukka and Uncle Ade
By Eziefula Adonai
Communicants
at breakfast, lunch or dinner
shed the vestments and impediments of
banana leaves, polythene bags or tin cans
which serve as mediums of its transfiguration
after a stint period of boiling, from batter to pudding
revealing this
dainty pudding, an Igbo
typology of Moses’ manna and
Christ’s Eucharist; food of life which the
vigna subtarrenea gives and human hands make,
its place as the third covenant meal ultimately consolidated.
This orange. No.
Yellow. No. Beautiful. Yes!
epitome of compatibility ensures that
ceasefires are declared as communicants
gulp down Coke or Pepsi to lubricate various
chambers of the digestive system for its triumphal entry
Okpa Nsukka,
the patron saint is nonpareil,
and best serves as a celebratory
confectionary in its locale. Uncle Ade’s
vociferation of “say okpa” instead of “cheese”
reveals surreal smiles as click-click sounds of shutters fill the air.
Eziefula Adonai
Eziefula Adonai is a student of Mass Communication at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. An avid reader of poems and other literary works, he has in the past come to realize the language in poetry. He further seeks to his experience and environment through this language.
Apricot Press 
