'FRAIDI'

‘Bellerun na nett’

A scary walk 50 yards from the house

Darkness and recalls of chilling ghost stories a tackle when nature calls

Safer with another body to calm the nerves

Slipper or stone ‘Kaja’ at the front door for a quick return

Peace of mind and a restful night sleep thereafter

Few minutes into the unwanted release

Footsteps shook the earth as something approached

The corrugated shit box was no match for a ‘Bambara with print en enkincha’

A husky one at that

With hearts pounding at the rate of death

I took in deep breath and snarled defiantly

Ko kan la?

A voice yelled back at me

Man la!

I again called out

Lo bugar?

He replied

Pan be la jailse!

Head scarf and all

He swapped pails in a flash

The load nervously receded back to who knows where

‘’Toilet roll’ may or may not have been used

As he disappeared into the night

Took seconds dashing back to safety

Pan be la jailse! ‘Kaka na you wase me foot’