we were there at the slaughter
at the slaughter of Fala
not all of us are guilty;
someone—not I—held the knife
and someone—not I—gave the order
but there are no innocents among us
some of us were inside the room
some of us were outside the room
some, just there by the door
but we were all in the same house
when Fala’s throat was slashed the blood splashed on us
Konko got it on his lips
Atteke got it on her fingernail
Tono’s throat was hit at the same place Fala’s was slit
Atteke wiped her hand on her skirt
Konko brought out his tongue and licked
and even those who did not see the blood
heard the cries pouring from Fala’s truncated throat
the ones who could stop it would not
the ones who would stop it could not
the ones who cared not numbered most of all;
those who are not guilty must at least be shamefaced
we were there at the slaughter
and none of our hands is clean
Chii Ọganihu is a Nigerian writer. She writes both fiction and poetry, and her work has appeared or is forthcoming in McSweeney’s Quarterly Review, Banshee, Portland Review, and elsewhere. Ọganihu can be found @ChiiOganihu on Twitter and Instagram.
