Akunna the Osu goddess 

Sweet Akunna of the forbidden caste,

with breasts erect and succulent to taste.

She has marble eyes that blossom by day,

and ivory teeth worth a millennium’s pay.

Her rare curves dangle to her feet’s rhythm,

for the gaze of rivals deep in schism.

Her moist lips have their natural redness,

as bright in colour as a crimson dress.

Her body’s landscape is soft with fragrance 

of love and sweetness in sheer abundance.

She has long, smooth and fine pillars for legs,

for which every man dreams daily and begs.

In rejection she rules the rainforest 

as the queen of misfits, but still the best.

An outcast with beauty that subjugates

all free born women yearning at the gates

of the gods for such unique endowments

which are natural without ornaments.

This poem describes a beautiful lady of the Osu caste system among the Igbo tribe of southeast Nigeria. The caste system is somewhat akin to what you have in India, where the harijan or the dalits are at the bottom of the ladder in stratified Indian society. The Osus are as much relegated to the depths among the igbos of southeast Nigeria, as the dalits and harijans of India.

Joseph C Ogbonna is a Best of the Net nominee for 2026. His poems explore the themes of Romance, love, religion, history, philosophy, nature, African identity and socio-economic problems in Africa and his native Nigeria. He is the winner of three international poetry contests and an Amazon international best-selling co-author. He lives in Enugu, Nigeria.