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(i)
My sister pulls off her gown and there is a swim suit underneath
She tosses aside her shoes and takes off on a light trot
He gives chase and I know what will happen:
They will find a shed
They will pay
They will pull the door shut
He will undress her slow-ly
Then they will do it
And late at night while father snores next door
My sister will tell me how they did it
How he raised her legs, his hands cupping a butt cheek
How she gave him back, made him beg for more
I would lie there in the dark, clenching fifteen years old
thighs
My head buzzing, like Rihana, with wild thoughts
(ii)
I sit in the sand, legs folded beneath me
My sister is gone, they have found a shed
They are doing it
So, I read my Mills and Boon
She is svelte and blond
He has jet black hair and blue eyes
“What are you reading?”
He is black and fat and his eyes bulge
“Good afternoon, Uncle,” I greet in answer
He takes the novel from my hand
He turns it around, he reads the blurb
“Hmm, looks like a love story.”
1 take it as he hands it over
I turn the pages, I keep reading
(iii)
A shadow falls over me
“What were you telling my husband?
I snap the pages shut
I am flushed from reading a sex scene
I look up and she stands scowling
“Nothing, Auntie,” I say but it is the wrong answe
Her slap knocks me flat and I taste sand
Then she pounces. The first punch blinds me
“Ashewo, leave my husband alone!”
I feel my top rip and she is dragging me up
My breasts are bared to the world
That is when her husband drags her away but it is done
I have been shamed for what I did not do
And I am crying when my sister returns
(iv)
“Na wetin happen?” She asks, fangs out
She is Wolverine ready to kill
I tell her, quickly, heaving, sobs wracking me
She says “pele” then lies flat on the sand
I watch her, eyes closed and I wonder
Is that all she will do, say pele and play ostrich?
Time passes, my sister is still as I sniffle
Then my sister springs up suddenly
My sister takes her by surprise
Sand in hand my sister blinds her
Then the blows land and land
Her dress rips, her breasts pop open
My sister is Medusa, hair hissing venom
“Oya make we go” she says as I burst with pride
Excerpted from the collection: Songs for Bar Beach: A Memorial in Verse, by Toni Kan, published in 2022 by RADI8
