Chameleon! by Kolawole Mathew Ogundipe

 Chameleon!

What really is your exactitude?

Entanglement you manufactured 

For your neighbours, colleagues and pals,

Of them none can precisely!

Precisely describe you to strangers;

Sesquipedalian you metamorphosed them to,

In their attempt to reflect you to strangers!

Like a masquerade

That calls himself a heavenly being

But dwells among people 

In the world after the festival,

Pretence runs your vein;

Aren’t you the one Jesus talked about?

In 23:1-28 of the first one in the Fresh Testament?

Why displaying different tinctures?

There, RED; here, WHITE;

Then, BLACK; now, BLUE;

Oh! Put paid to this  ̶  

Extremely disgusting! 

Why being inconstant in your attitudes?

Today, MEEKNESS; tomorrow, PRIDE;

Here, VIRTUOUS; there, EVIL; 

Oh! Put paid to this  ̶  

Extremely disgusting!

Why being inconstant in your decision making?

You said we should do it this way,

But denied it later;

You said this is the method we should employ,

But antagonised it later;

You placed hefty loads 

On your followers’ shoulder

When you yourself cannot lift a pin, 

If you say we should go like this today;

 Tomorrow, you’ll turn it!

Oh! Put paid to this  ̶  

Extremely disgusting!

Why can’t you be regular? 

Regular in your attitudes and decisions

Why can’t you hold on to pleasant traits?

And shun your higgledy-piggledy tendencies,

Why can’t you stop? 

Stop changing events to your own satisfaction?

Oh! Please, put paid to this  ̶  

Extremely disgusting!

Amend your ways,

 Remember that you are the book 

Those children and adolescents are reading:

As you are at the forefront,

What type of behaviour

Do you want your subjects emulate from you?

About The Author

He, a holder of Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) in English (Double Major) from the Federal College of Education, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria and B.A. (Ed.) in English language from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, was born in Oja-odan, Yewa North, Ogun State; but resides in Owode Egba, Ogun State. He has fervour for probing different aspects of his area of academic discipline. He also cherishes to be observant of common happenings of life, aiming at penning them for reading. He has published articles in journals. Also, some of his poems have been published in an anthology (the Mississippi Books) and Lipi Magazine. Email: kolawolemathew53@gmail.com