The ghosts

By Rita Mam Avi

We all sit around With silence. We await The coming of the dead In patience.

When will you come?

We wait The lime pot is full The basket has plenty of Buai, and daka.

We wait patiently.

Bring your friends Our dead relatives too Then we’ll all sit And chew.

No one in our group Will stop the lime pot From moving.

We will watch it move round Then it will stop at the front

Of our breathing chief

Who will start chewing for us, After you the dead.

Come O dead come. (The belief has been that ghosts of the dead came to such a meeting and chewed betelnut first, then passed it to the chief, who started it around for the living.)