Old Bailey Sat and Mourned

He was part of the process
Harvesting things out of his bare hands
Until the advent of the cursed engine
Steaming out life from man
From dawn to dusk and dusk to dawn

 There’s no longer rest at sight
As the master with wipe in hand
Push and push the workers
And his God-cursed engine
Preying upon humans for more
And drugged with humbled hurry
Like a stream, sweaters flew and flew
To nourish the master’s dream

 Old Bailey sat and mournful
Licked his sweater as the engine
Chopped off the finger of a colleague
With broken fingers and bloody sweats
The order of their day
Of a mangled mass
Of labours
Back bent aside by sufferings
From the new great engine

---

Obinna Chilekezi is a Nigerian poet and insurance practitioner. His poems have been published in Journals and anthologies both in his country, Nigeria and abroad. His Collection of poems Songs of a Stranger at the Smiling Coast was published by Kraft Books Limited and Calligramme by Emotion Press.