ALLEGORICAL: "WE CAN BELL THESE CATS" BY AKAN ESSIEN.

Cats with wings  

sent to lynch  

our rats  

have grown fangs  

and horns of oxen

goring  

our harvest  

without mercy.

Cats with wings  

armed with

holy stings  

we believed  

would fling  

out the wolf-rats  

now spin  

webs  

of theft

devouring our mornings

swallowing our  

evenings

paradise

plundered 

redemption 

reduced to ash.

Cats with wings  

hollow

without height

without moral compass

have turned  

adversaries 

biting deep

inflicting cancerous  

hardship 

our nation’s  

terminal shame.

But let our ink run  

like the fountains  

of the Jordan

washing away  

this conspiracy  

of silence  

born of polluted  

servitude  

that Cats with wings  

have laid upon  

us.

We can bell these Cats.

We can cut off

their crafty schemes..  

We can free our  

souls from prisons

of deceit  

if we reject  

their buttered kola 

sorceries of corrupt  

graft 

ground them 

and place  

them

where

they belong.

 Together we can 

 © Akan Essien

Uyo

“WE CAN BELL THESE CATS” by Akan Essein is a political protest poem that condemns corruption, failed leadership, and the exploitation of citizens. The poet uses the metaphor of “cats with wings” to represent individuals who were trusted to protect society but have instead become predators, enriching themselves while the nation suffers. The imagery of fangs, horns, theft, and plunder emphasizes the destructive consequences of their actions.

The poem also criticizes the silence and passive acceptance that allow corruption to continue. Through references to polluted servitude and deceit, the poet calls on the people to reject corrupt practices and resist oppressive leadership. The repeated assertion that “We can bell these Cats” conveys hope in collective action and civic courage. Ultimately, the poem is a call for citizens to unite, expose corruption, and reclaim their freedom from those who have exploited the nation.