They called me ugly

They called me ugly 

And I believed it 

I never grew my hair

But deliberately kept it low 

Very low and ugly

Wherever I turned ,

They called me ugly 

Ugly, ugly , ugliana  ! Ho !

The only credence to beauty 

I owed 

Was a posh Igbo name

Now , I have begun to make my hair

Make my hair

And well,

And my world renown hairdresser 

World renown  hairdresser 

Have you met her  yet ? 

Makes me Valerie 

Petunia

Rosamund

Rosabelle 

And oh ! Sometimes Lillyville 

My only problem is 

She is not always available 

Not always available 

Then ,

My misfortune happens 

A wayside hairdresser 

Whose fame spans a million beautiful hair styles

A million beautiful  hair styles 

Turns me into

Ekemma

Nkwómma

Sometimes , Nwanke - ekemezie 

On occasion Iya Basira 

At other times

Monsieur Takas

I will survive all of them by Jove

           Nwanna Okeke