while on a morning walk in Ummuneochi, a western boy called pointing a finger to the sky and says;
“Eagle. This bird’s name is eagle.” I look, but the part of the sky is empty.
It is gone, he said.
That bird is an eagle, that is the name. I look again, and a small bird chip past, flapping its wings and it isn’t an eagle.
Then I speak, this bird is not an eagle—a Greygone or some sort—Aye! I too can’t tell its name in English.
“Well, it should be an eagle, all birds are eagle.” He said.
I think it’s same how we purposely miscall, misgender, misspelt, and ignoring call outs.
And to keep mum at misnaming is a beginning of complex while wanting not to offend and shine.
The eagle is a beautiful bird, so are the; finches; lark; vulture; owl; ostrich; sparrow; and this unknown one. All having a uniqueness, so, I shall not be lured to make a bird what it’s not.
The mind of a child is brittle, it could learn never to misname a bird, only if I were not mum.
Seye Fakinlede is a writer and journalist. His works have appeared on Brittle Paper, and Afro Rep. And if he is not writing, he is teaching literature or volunteering.