Bird Scaring

        

They come in droves and drones
Winging wildly overhead at great speed
Making straight for the millet crop
Standing all white in the fields:
The promise of a bumper harvest!
Men, women, and kids rise up in arms
To defend their labour and sweat
Against these marauding birds;
These little ravenous beasts,
That come whirling and twirling
Nibbling, gnawing, and hacking!
Destroyers and usurpers, the lot of them!
They suck, slurp, and scatter
And bring to naught months of sweat.
So we howl and yell and scream:

Haaaaa! Haaaaa!
And curse them all morning
Till we grow hoarse and hissy.

Read: Village Boy Impressions - The seasons at home

        

We all rise before the sun

And divide the fields between us

Every mother and every father

That has toiled in the burning sun

Through planting and weeding

Now stand guard and ready
Keeping a sharp eye on the fields.
Every kid in every compound
Is armed with a can and a stick

And with our shrill voices;

We must howl and bark and bang

Haaa! Haaa!

To stay them and all their kind

And spare the ripening millet

From their toothless beaked jaws

Till at last, the harvest comes.

Read: Village Boy Impressions - The Baobab Tree

        

Over some fields, the banners fly

Through the nets, the wind whistles

And overall, the scarecrows sway

Waving their open arms at all.

But though they scare the crows,

They frighten you not, little birdies

In their open arms, you nestle

And mock our wearisome efforts

Pitiless, merciless the lot of you!

We have barked, we have harped

We have clapped, we have flapped

We have jumped, we have leaped

We have chanted, we have sang:

Haaa! Haaa!

And we have pounded the cans sore

But still, you have persisted in coming

Will you not relent, will you not tire?

Little vicious devils, do answer me!

Read: Village Boy Impressions - The Emperor's New Clothes