CNF: Save for a Rainy Day
by Chidera Ihekereleome-Okorie
Because you know an idiom or two, don’t mean you should use or say them. But if you must, ruminate before you do. Because you see the sun often, don’t mean others do. You say save for a rainy day, but there are things you are oblivious to because you don’t look deep enough. And when you do look, it is empty of compassion. Though you are not a surgeon, you do with your eyes what a scalpel does to the body—slice. You are not searching for a tumour, but even if you were, it is not to remove it. You are searching for reasons—a smoke too long, a drink too much, a string of fellatios.
You always find, but though it be insufficient, all that matters is that you find grounds to hold them responsible for their trauma. But I thought you should know; there are people for whom every day is a storm. Escaping the lightning is all the saving they know. Some only get umbrellas with cavities matching the colour of sky. Do not expect them to not get drenched. For some, saving is survival, and survival is not for a rainy day. It is for every storm, for every lack, for every day.
Chidera Ihekereleome-Okorie is an emerging poet who lives in Nigeria. She writes poetry because it helps her understand the world and the reason she is in it at this time. Her work has appeared in perhappened mag. Find her on twitter @chideraIheke.
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What surprising, fascinating stuff can you tell us about the origin, drafting, and/or final version of “Save for a Rainy Day”? I first wrote this poem for a contest. I submitted it, but I never received feedback. The night I wrote this poem, I felt it was incomplete, but I was not sure what was missing. The final version is same as the first, except in its arrangement. It is incredible how the same piece now has an entirely opposite feel. It is one of the best things I have written. The intention of this piece is to stir up some humanity in the reader. It is a reminder to be kind because what good does it do if you are not?
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