Prologue
 
 1966
 
 absentminded
 
 our thoughtless days
 
 sat at dire controls
 
 and played indolently
 
 slowly downward in remote
 
 subterranean shaft
 
 a diamond-tipped
 
 drill point crept closer
 
 to residual chaos to
 
 rare artesian hatred
 
 that once squirted warm
 
 blood in God's face
 
 confirming His first
 
 disappointment in Eden
 
 Nsukka, November 19, 1971
 
 Benin Road
 
 Speed is violence
 
 Power is violence
 
 Weight violence
 
 The butterfly seeks safety in lightness
 
 In weightless, undulating light
 
 But at a crossroads where mottled light
 
 From old trees falls on a brash new highway
 
 Our separate errands collide