HEFTY BOUNTY
Years back, on a donkey’s back,
I was a Nun… then a Doctor.
Now, my life has simply unraveled,
Falling apart under my own gaze.
I saw it, yet I didn’t
Shattering bit by bit,
Blinded by my own magnificence.
Everything trashed. The end beckons.
I thrashed them all… my family.
Burnt bridges, crashed friendships.
I thought I was trashing the world,
But I was the trash—rotten, abandoned.
Don’t be sorry for me;
I am sorry enough for myself.
Sorrow is the color of my life,
Whatever shade it chooses to be,
In and out of every season.
But my car is red.
A vibe of flame and hope.
I still love to work on her
My lonely, only companion.
True and steady in the damnedest times,
She weathers the seasons with me.
She shelters, transports, speaks, tingles.
On days when life isn’t an option,
I choose to stick to my red car.
You saw through my vulnerability.
I feel exposed, unhinged,
Naked before you and weak.
Baked in this truthful revelation,
I know not why I told you.
There is a string that pulls us together;
Maybe death is in the air for us both.
I’d like you to meet my son someday…
Though yours killed mine, cruelly.
No forgiveness in sight for him,
I never knew… so please, don’t go.
With no kidney donor in sight,
Stay with me for my last gasp.
Hear me out, please.
Let me do this for her.
Let me take care of her this time.
AB-Negative rarity is a heavy plum.
On my head sits a hefty bounty;
Hunted by men of the underworld
Eaten up raw by internal guilt
Of a killing not intended
For the ominous rage roars in me
Gasping to survive death alike
Don’t let me fall to this bounty hunting
Let me make it count while it’s worth it
My kidney for her failing one.
That is my eternal gift to my mother.
I’m a walking corpse anyway,
Let my death count for something.
Please, John, don’t let that smile fade.
The light you gave her must never dim.
Take care of her, while I’m gone beneath.
Alayande Stephen T.
2.54am
23rd January 2026
