“the ten (minus three) commandments for a black man” by Testimony Odey
Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “the ten (minus three) commandments for a black man” by Testimony Odey.
the ten (minus three) commandments for a black man
By Testimony Odey
1. thou shalt have no other gods before pan-africanism
2. thou shalt not cut your motherโs tongue off in shame
3. thou shalt not replace moonlight tales with keeping up with the kardashians
4. thou shalt not bleach your skin the colour of the moon
5. honour thy ancestors that thy days may be long
6. thou shalt not exchange achebeโs things fall apart with shakespeare
7. thou shalt not let the white man fuck you in the brain again
Copyright ยฉ Testimony Odey
Testimony Odey is a Nigerian writer whose works have been published in magazines and journals such as The FEMINIST Magazine, The Deadlands and PoeticAfrica. She was an artist-in-residence at the Rongo Artist Residency and MAAR. She has been shortlisted for the African Human Rights Short Story Prize and Brigitte Poirson Literature Prize, and is a recipient of the Nigerian Prize for Teen Authors and Ten Outstanding Young Persons Awards. On social media, she’s @testimonyodey.
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