My Cousin Mayowa

"Y'oro", the voice explained, "Y'oro awon iba'ntutu"
"Y'oro Bantu?" I clarified.
"Yes," the voice explained, "Understand to them the poetry of those who lived when it was cold, Y'oro Bantu."

My cousin Mayowa lived in Ikpeja, a sprawling estate across the way from some of the world's finest palmi joints. We never did have a cola together, though I remember him, with his American accent, insisting that whatever truth Plato wrought was less important than non-truth. To hear him tell it, my cousin Mayowa, "peace" was all that mattered. "War" existed only because the peaceful ignored those things that led to peace--like family ties and whatnot. I was less convinced.

"Y'oro" the voice explained, "Y'oro imesi"
"The voice of the Oyo Mesi?" I clarified.
"Yes," the voice explained, "Understand to them the poetry of those who lived when it was cold, Y'oro Bantu."

In those days, in Azania, there were two major Kings. King Lola ruled Northern Azania with an iron fist. Most said she was a lesbian, primarily because soft women do not have iron fists. But how could a lesbian born child? Maybe she was a virgin... of yore. King Lola was known, in many circles, as a stubborn man. She often ate groundnut just before noon, not because this was acceptable by the standards of polite Azans, but because the noise it made--that smacking noise--offended those who did not, too, have groundnut to eat. And King Lola lived to offend. She loved to offend the closed-minded, the evil and the bad. Except for her husband, Queen Awala, who, at the time, ruled Southern Azania... also with an iron fist....

(to be continued)