ONE FOR THE TAYONG DYNASTY

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

(For Maxyne)


They were the two-some duo
In together like the couple next door
Out together like the Joneses of old
Who shopped at Oxford Street every week.

Typical earth signs that they both were
They measured each pace with precision
And each word with empirism
So that nothing was wasted.

From my watchtower
I recorded every move, like a scientist
The restless locks of Maxyne
Those intrusions she kept throwing back.

What a cute figure to behold
Nature’s masterpiece flashed at me
A pearl, no! A rare gem not to let go
God’s gift to the world, right here at Dolce.

What a linguistic mix, Mbatu and Alahtening
Now Molière’s, now the Queen’s
Impeccable, distinct, not languages in contact
What a rare breed? Or is it some Texan hybrid?

From my cradle, two tables away
I get absorbed in the angelic glances
Wonderland, so near, yet so far
Yet, here where I am, I’m engaged.

But is this real, or am I dozing off?
I hope it’s not history repeating itself
So that tomorrow I hear another tale
Of a gendarme, the beauty and the gun shot?

Right now, though, there’s no turning back
I have crossed the Rubicon
So, come what may, the ship will sail on
Albatross or no albatross

Pulling myself together, I camp and wait
Wait for the moment I’ll break free
Break free and fly to this foreign land
Where all that glitters is gold.

Weary of waiting, I decide to jump
For, a Tayong does not wait for things to happen
No, he goes out and makes them happen
That’s why I break the ice with the one present.

This was not despair because being Voltaire’s optimist
I knew the moment would surely come
And it did, without the grass growing under my feet
It came when I heard the toilet flushed.