By Kwesi BISSUE
It was their moment
The moment they had waited patiently for
For Virgin Vera and Virgin Victor
It was a long patient wait
Their joy knew no measure
As friends and family
Showered gifts of flowery…praise
For the two were living cases
Of how to marry chaste
Of how to wait until taken
Until broken by the one who was given
So her hymen was broken
Broken by the one who had her taken
On the first night, on the honeymoon
When the two freshers acted so green
A virginity confirmed by bloody stains
On a sheet of white satin
The union took off to a blissful start
Becoming the envy of many a searching heart
One year on, a child was born
To make the union a threesome
Three years on, another was added on
To make them a foursome
At the age when the first child turned four
His health turned poor
Same as Virgin Vera and Virgin Victor
Several tests revealed various ailments
Ailments unveiled at various stages of development
All perplexing and defiant
From malaria to diarrhoea
From anemia to pneumonia
Also tuberculosis
Various treatments in variable doses
Failed to bury bacterial germs
It only took an escalated diagnosis
To unearth a hidden virus
…a Human Immunodeficiency Virus
When the news was broken
Two hearts were broken
Two hearts of humble virgin beginnings
Two hearts were terribly shaken
How daring could a virus be?
Where did a virus pass to rudely intervene
Intervene in a virgin enclave
Then Virgin Vera and Virgin Victor subjected to a clinical test
Only to be placed in the positive box of the virus
First it was a state of denial and fear
“How could we believe in this viral smear?
How could we this fear bear?”
Disbelief turned to shock
Grief soon replaced shock
But the grief was so brief
For Virgin Vera had a confession to brief
Not a brief confession to end in a second’s split
It was a confession to name a culprit
II
It happened in her university days
When constraints of funds were part of her student ways
Daily constraints she confronted in diverse ways
But which still grew wings to stare her in the face
In the face of her avowed resolve
A resolve to have the tag of a graduate
…tagged around her
She trudged through, nonetheless
One conversation with a hall mate
And a following after that fellow to enter a strange gate
Was all it took to straighten up her dire straits
It was a weekend party
A coitus party
A coitus party of another kind
It was done from behind
In the butt
Done to make a fast buck
It was for members only
Tucked away from prying eyes
Blocked from decent eyes
She went along as they went
They went till the semesters were complete
Till she graduated as an upper class donor
As a Highly Infected Virgin
…without knowing i
