THE PAINFULL SMILE

A Poem by deux oti

The awe of a drunkard's wife

The lone voice scatters widely
Intruding the silent atmosphere
In disregard to the silent slumber
The echoes spread through the slum
The message borne is quite different
But the imminent effect totally equal
To the great ancient war songs
Of the African fierce warriors
Gradually the sinister pitch increases
So does my unquenchable terror
Frantically my eyes search in vain
For a place to hide my volatile peace
Vigorously the door swings open
Unceremoniously paving way for its master
involuntarily my name becomes the theme
Of every question and sentence uttered
My bony body dreads the consequences
Of starving the holy drunkard's family
As usual the muddy boot goes up
And tearfully I kiss the ground again
Then with the usual simplicity
The morning sun graces the horizon
Washing off dried traces of tears
I manage a rather painful smile
Only to expunge yesternight's after-math
With a silent disguised after-glow