A PLACE UNDER THE SUN

SEEKING A PLACE UNDER THE SUN By Tikum Mbah Azonga I`m not a thread needle Far from it, I`m a needle thread I don`t pierce I wrap I wrap the world round my little finger I do that sitting on a loan dinghy on the majestic Nile Thinking of nothing but the Sierra Leonian girl with the gap teeth Who lived in Khartoum But thought she lived in Cairo. I`m a needle with a difference Surely not the type through whose eye a camel can go For, frankly, who am I to merit such a threat? I`m the cornerstone the Morcho`s rejected Because they shared a fence with the presidency I mean with Unity Palace – did you doubt it? Today I pitch at their doorway With multiple threads wrapped around the lone needle. We wait for the judge to speak But we know not who will carry the day.