Dirt

O’ dirt, thou quicked’d to death,

With thy tattered hands and choking smell;

Thou has further marred our ailing health,

Our town and market square looks like hell

O’ dirt, thou a harbinger of sickness,

Not you.. I blame my town for rearing thee,

They harbor’d thee because of their recklessness

While thou feast on their children thou kill,

If our town can be clean and pure,

Then cholera and malaria would stop;

Chase out dirt and long life is sure,

Don’t litter… pick every dirt you drop’d

Tidy all drainage and those alike,

Embrace sanitation as thy clarion call,

Make cleanliness thy watch word to abide

Teach thy children to obey all hygienic law

O’ dirt, thou can no more sojourn here,

We’ve cleansed our hands from thy curse,

My clansmen and UN has vowed to end thee this year,

Before 2030; we would end thee by force

(Poem: “Dirt” by Olorunleke Odubote)