We Didn't Want To Die

An excerpt from Crude.

A Sestina

Don't despise us,

Our stomachs longed for a slice of bread,

We also sought to hide from death

So we changed our clothes and we dyed our tongues.

It is okay to be bereft of convictions

And as such we will not be judged.

Finks should not be judged

Or, at least, try to understand us.

It is true, we hold no convictions

But this is due to those loaves of bread

And clean water, this stirred our tongues.

Above all, we were afraid of death.

All this time, we've been alive in death

Born in sin and destined to be judged.

We were taught to covet other tongues.

Nonetheless, don't ostracize us

Give us, instead, a mansion filled with bread

For we lie in saying that we don't have convictions.

Give a lecture on the boon of convictions

Even though we're assigned to the place of death.

This is our cup and our bowl of bread.

Therefore, on this earth, we ought not be judged.

Have mercy on us

And give heed to the proceeds of our tongues.

We sacrificed our tongues

And made men believe that we're full of convictions.

But accept us

Because we do not love death

Nor the fact that that our badge reads "the judged."

For now, we'll hunt and beg for bread.

We were without bread

And toothbrushes to clean our tongues.

Therefore, we refuse to be judged

Even though we became brutes and changed our convictions.

We lurk in the shadows of death,

Do not accost us.

They said " Hey! The judged! See, easy work for bread.

Befriend us, abuse your tongues

Adopt strange convictions and you'll escape death."

---

ABOUT CRUDE

Crude is like a tree that has finally broken through the wall that hindered it. It narrates life's hurdles, dilemmas and desires without restraint.

This chapbook gives a panoramic view of personal and collective experiences. Issues are addressed in such a way that the emotions splattered on the pages will become yours.

“Crude is a dynamic and varied collection. Urhuru grapples with a multitude of themes that are as varied as the forms she employed. It proves to be just as comfortable being steadfast in the rigidity of sestinas as nimbly flowing with the fluidity of free verse.

Crude refuses classification, rejects refinement and abhors conformity. We are in Urhuru's thoughts, questioning cultural and creative identity, and contemplating politics, virtues and vices.

At all points, the words feel intentional and intense. It is quite an experience."

- Franklyn Usouwa, writer, shortlisted for the 2021 & 2022 Common Wealth Short Story Prize.

Get Crude now @ campsite.bio/urhuru

I don't know why there's no space between the stanzas. I'm trying to adjust it.