DIDACTIC: "WHERE ARE THEIR PARENTS?" BY STRIDA

And so I asked,

"Where are their parents?"

A skirt barely thirteen in a crop top,

her shorts better worn in her room,

in the middle of the Ijegun Bus Stop by 12:36 am.

Do not ask me what I was doing there!

And so I asked,

"Where are their parents?"

"Wọ́n ní Sọlá ti kú!"

"Igbo lo pa, ki n se Igbo lo ma pa mi."

White flames surrounded his face and a thousand other faces,

black flames flooding their lungs to death.

And so I asked,

"Where are their parents?"

I see their eyes glued to lousy lamentations,

swollen with wounds of self-inflicted suffering,

when opportunities are as close as earth and sand,

they call it a true trap.

And so I asked,

"Where are their parents?"

In a garden where rich attitude gathers,

I see them longing for a zoo.

When the day comes and breath remains,

their brains are so soaked in breathless snoring.

And so I asked,

"Please... where are their parents?"

Parenting is a duty to serve a child,

a child to serve himself and the assembly of parents,

rebirthing a force from the memories of childhood.

No soul should be born without a pulley.

© RASHIDAT OLAMIDAYO AJAKAYE

STRIDA

2026

"Where Are Their Parents?" by Rashidat Olamidayo Ajakaye is a social criticism poem that explores the declining moral values and behavioural challenges among young people, while questioning the role of parents in their upbringing. Through vivid imagery and recurring rhetorical questions, the poet highlights issues such as indecent dressing, drug abuse, substance-related deaths, idleness, and poor life choices. She expresses concern over the apparent absence of proper parental guidance and the consequences of neglecting children's moral and personal development. The poem ultimately emphasises that parenting is a fundamental responsibility that requires active involvement, discipline, and guidance to raise responsible individuals capable of contributing positively to society.