Nigerian, Kenyan and Ugandan Security Guards in San Leandro, California. A poem by Thomas Rogers Muyunga Mukasa

Three Security Guards from Africa in USA

Ring, ring, ring, ring,
I wonder who it is this time of the day,
I paid my bills and my credit,
Oh, Ibadan! I wonder what it is this time,
 he never calls unless anything is to do with him or Nigeria,
we struck it out when I showed interest in Nigeria,
well, in seven particular names of cities in Nigeria,
they have names similar to the ones where I come from,
Oyo, Enugu, Kano, Gombe, Nsukka, Sagamu and Buguma,
I shared with him their linguistic similarity with mine;
that one, hate, this, big horn, exceeding, joke and brevity,
these were the meanings of those words,
he pointed out they were cities in his fond country,
America makes it possible for one to gain a kind of self confidence,
may be it is the fact that once one has figured it out,
one cannot miss getting the coveted dollar,
Brother Kampala, how are you my brother,
Brother, my cousin from Lagos,
the one I told you about, is coming over,
Praise God Almighty-ooo,
he is on the next plane to Oakland Airport,
Now, I need you brother, to stand in for me at the store-ooo,
please do the night shift as well brother,
okay brother, that is wonderful brother,
You Ogandans are nice brothers,
but brother don't forget we need to move on,
we need jobs we are qualified to do,
I need to use my Masters in Architecture,
okay brother am rushing-ooo, catch you later,
Ring, ring, ring, ring,
hey, Nairobi what's up?
What? You are repairing your car?
You want me to give the supervisor the time sheet?
That is fine. I shall need a ride tomorrow,
What? You are breaking. You are driving?
I thought you are at the repair garage?
It will not be possible? The car has problems?
The life of a security guard from Africa in USA,
we are hiding our true feelings towards each other,
behind formal scripts of seeming success,
no one likes to know detailed accounts,
no one gives the detailed accounts anyway,
there is fear that revealing pain will prompt ostracism,
the other person may beat a hasty retreat or exit,
none of us want to face abandonment,
especially by newly made African friends,
we share a common recent departure point.

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