When He Left Home For The City
By Noel Diketane
He was an anthem. A song beautifully written. An artwork worth exhibiting.
He was a song of hope. A song his mother was proud to have produced.
The city welcomed him with warm hands – the city loves him too.
He plays in every club, bar, event… He is on every deejay’s playlist.
But he has slowly become a remix his mother cannot play in church or for her friends.
He has become a song his mother skips on her playlist but cannot delete.
A song she hopes will one day make her proud again or at least understand this remix her son has become.
While she hopes, she also prays. She prays that her son does not dissolve in the city.
She prays that he does not become a funeral themed music video.
She prays that he does not come back from the city as a remix she can only sing with a lower register. She prays that her song does not become a song she hums, a song of grief, a song carried in a body bag and eventually a coffin.
