Crumps from Anee’s Table
Let the crumps fall:
Millions of God's children
Are dying of starvation,
Like sore-littered Lazarus
Yet nearly all of them pray daily
On bended knees, hands outstretched
For their daily bread.
Let the crumps fall;
So that the Kingdom of God may come
On earth to meet them all alive.
Let the crumps fall, even crumps,
Though God's children may prefer
Fresh "manna" from heaven,
To crumps from Anee's table.
When the Almighty
Sent his Son to die for our sins
There was hunger on earth;
His son suffered it, like the rest
But crumps did not fall,
Rather he died.
Not from wounds
Inflicted on his hands and legs,
Nor from heart-break—
Because he was tortured:
How long could he hold out from
Thirst, hunger, and exposed confinement
On the solitary Cross? He died
To assuage our spiritual hunger.
His immortal soul was sacrificed
For our soul's lust for immortality
And our bodies remains unfed.
And today, seething revolutions rage
Because millions of God's children
Have stones instead of bread;
Let the crumps fall
So that many more of God's children
May not die for nothing.
Anam Ntukidem
EDITOR’S NOTE: First published in Nigeria Magazine, 1 June 1970, p. 160. The source prints “CALABAR. ANAM NTUKIDEM, 21-7-69.” It also explains that “Anee”, alias “Nnyan”, is the name of a local sun-god to whom everything is sacrificed to avert vengeance. This transcription follows the archived page scan. View the source record.