Today Pegman took us to Gurara Waterfalls, Nigeria. Thanks k rawson for an inspiring place to write about!
Used to be we ladies came here to scrub de sweat out of de armpits of plaid shirts
and rinse mud off de cuffs of heavy jeans.
Those stains meant our men were working hard in the fields
to support us and our little babies.
Our skirts and blouses are held together with patches and buttons in odd places.
No one minds. Them ratty old clothes never kept us from laughin and kissin the little ones,
nor sharing stories over a communal fire while cookin a fine meal for our men.
But things changed after the oil company came
and our men got new jobs.
Now dey stay in town after dark,
drinking de beer and spending money on ladies dat ain’t us.
Now we don’t care if the clothes are clean.
Last week, we ladies had a meeting.
It was decided.
Tonight’s soup will taste slightly bitter.
149-words
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Great story. I like that revenge can be served by inaction as much as action.
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Do not let a woman and her child-cubs down. Thanks, Josh.
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Oh my. I could hear and see her telling her tale! Too late for apologies for those men.
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There’s nothing like the wrath of a woman scorned ~ our a bunch of them! Thanks, Karen
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Dear Lish,
And den de ladies can take de money and find de men to treat dem right. Love the voice in this piece. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks, Rochelle.
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Such an authentic voice, Lish. Such a believable tale. Well told, you!
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Thanks, Kelvin. Men should never doubt the power of a group of angry women.
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Or one single loving woman. 🙂
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Oh, you are so very right!
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Right… the womenfolk were good enough till the bigwigs came… foolish men. They will rue the day! Love the voice in this.
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Thanks, Dale. I say, never mess with women who wash your clothes and have access to your food. Hope your birthday/Easter gathering was super fun.
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Agree.
It was great, thanks. Always fun when the whole family gets together!
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Wow! Revenge is best served warm in a bowl with a side order of bread! A chilling tale of how money corrupts and sad too, that what the families no doubt thought was to be a happier, steady future has brought nothing but upset and nightshade soup … Lovely story, well told
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I often think of the people who are happy doing what they do, before men and money roll in and mess things up. Thanks for reading and commenting, Lynn.
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Ah, money does tend to do that 🙂
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Excellent story, Alicia. I really like the way you use the title to make sense of the last line. The voice is good, and I love how you describe the day to day routine of the community, and how the oil companies have disrupted it.
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Thanks, Penny! It’s great to be able to use the title as “extra words” to make things come around. I appreciate your kind words. Alicia
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Drastic measures. The oil company’s gonna need some new workers!
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Maybe the ladies!
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Feels very timely. Very well done.
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Thank you.
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