I Have Not Forgotten Fancy
Prologue:
“Talk about the devil
And show me the angel, Fancy
Who doesn’t need an anvil
To forge or hammer his fallacies”
Chapter One:
forgive me;
I’m unworthy to lace your fancy shoes,
I’m unworthy to call you a lair;
I’ll leave that to the voices in your guitar—
the ones that knew you as a l o v e r
& the ones hiding the sins on your covers.
Chapter Ten:
blessed is the coy white v i p e r;
blessed are his twelve virtues—
one: laying baits for ants to see,
five: luring prey into a thick fantasy,
seven: forcing men into women’s shoes,
nine: spreading ‘innocence’ for fans to see,
eleven: unmentionable! (only for those who “fail to see.“)
twelve: wrapping & sharing packs of scented w i p e r s.
Epilogue:
Not all that glitter are gems—
There’s paint, there’s sheer Fancy, too,
Snaring little boys with lyrical gospels,
Drowning them in praise, and in holed promises.
Not all that glitters withstands heat.
(Like the teeth sparkling over a studio mic
Barely an hour after chewing Sodom
And being smeared with Moab.)
Author Bio: Emmanuel Stephen Ogboh
Emmanuel Stephen Ogboh started writing his observations and experiences four years ago, inspired by Lisa Smallwood, an American poet. His works have since appeared in Tuck, Better Than Starbucks, Fourth Wave, Vox Poetica, Literary Yard, Down in the Dirt and elsewhere. He lives in eastern Nigeria and just recently dropped out of school.