The Longing — Chike C. Aniakor

Fill, Oh! fill
my calabash with water
to drain off unfilled dreams
lost in the wetness
of silent hopes and desires;
Return you eagle of the night
bringing from the bosom
of the clouds
new hopes, new dreams
that my calabash may now
fill to the brim,
that tales of hunger
may now become tales
of laughter,
that this child, borne
on the back of another
may learn to walk
when it sees its own;
Then and only then
will my songs weave
new hopes, new desires
to soften the stillness
of the night.