SATIRE: "FIRE TO OUR MOLEHILL" BY AKAN ESSIEN

This molehill  

has not healed  

our chills 

we still shiver

still thrill  

to oppression

still bow  

to deception.

This molehill  

swallows our will

bleeds our till

feasts on our tillage.  

We’re left famished 

dignity pawned

languishing  

while it struts  

naked with shame 

upside down

without an ounce  

of pride.

This molehill  

bills us within  

and without  

taxes we cough up  

gorged like Jonah  

by the whale

but this whale has  

no anus  

to purge its loot

only a throat  

that swallows Naira.

Before seven

more rains fall  

we can strangle  

this molehill.  

If I bring

the fuel  

and you

strike the match 

the inferno we light  

won’t just burn 

it will beacon.  

A fire to blind  

queens and their kings 

to orphan  

their foot soldiers  

to leave their hill  

ash and silence.

 © Akan Essien

- Uyo

"Fire to Our Molehill" is a protest poem that condemns corruption, oppression, and the exploitation of ordinary people by those in power. The "molehill" symbolizes a corrupt system that enriches itself by consuming the people's labor, wealth, and dignity while leaving them impoverished and powerless. Through vivid imagery and satire, the poet expresses frustration with injustice and calls for collective action to challenge and dismantle the oppressive structure. The poem ends with a hopeful vision of unity and resistance as the path to meaningful change.