This one was for shy Maryam, the Maiduguri-born lass at the Nigerian Law School, Abuja. Circa 2010. Erm, the embarrassing parts of this poem have been edited away sha. :p :D
PHILOMEL
The stillness of her lips
Stuns my sharp wits.
Her silence razor-sharp
Cuts the thick fog.
I name her Philomel
After that Greek Maiden
Ravished and made dumb.
Philomel, I ask her,
Is this mock dumbness you assume
Or the silence of an imprisoned voice?
(c) Chitzi Ogbumgbada