A NEIGHBOR I DIDN’T LOVE AS MYSELF

I lost a neighbor I didn’t love as myself
Not for not trying, but for the protection of my very self
My neighbor was as prickly as the skin of a porcupine
And gave abusive threats that sent shivers down my spine
He stole my wires and logs
And threatened my sister with haunting flogs

Even when I went out of my way to lend him my land
He showed me attitudes I  still can’t understand
And so I didn’t love him as myself
Still, I wished him breathing, not bloated and stinking

My neighbor was a living devoted liquor bar
Not even scary sicknesses could make him stay away from the drinking jar
Don Sebastian, his benefactor who in him did believe
Tried his hardest to force him to live
But he went from bathing with it
…to swimming in it
And finally drowned in it

Although I stayed far from him
I helped in the keeping watch duty
Telling Don to force a reasoning to keep him alive
But even horses determine when to drink
Ogogoro was his true booty
So we were all pushed to the brink

Till he journeyed alone in his room
Forcing scents to announce his journey of doom
Awetu the cantankerous!
Awetu the frustrated!
Awetu the capricious!
Awetu the ever whining
…is gone

He is making me imagine my first human rot
Praying this doesn’t become any one else’s lot
No matter how unlikeable his living journey
The sorrow of his lonely transitioning
Pricks my soul
I wish for him a peace he gave his neighbors not
Making many abstain from an engagement
…with him
I wish for him a life he wished he had got
Perhaps a priestly journey
I wish for him the power he craved
Above all, I wish for him an angel who could have him saved
…no matter his nature
To carve into him

…a fulfillment I felt he craved before his horrid rapture
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © June 12, 2026.