Once I visited a hidden village
Hidden; for a mountain hid them in sight
The land; so green horticulture was a waste
There, Beauty found herself a home.
Hidden from civilization
There; wealth was counted in lives not coins
Beauty found herself a home
One that didn’t need a chandelier.
Wealth was counted in lives not in coins
Children tumbled in the dust and then in the rain
Cattles outnumbered the humans
There; beauty found a home without chandelier.
Originally written in 2014 on a mountain top at Gwongwon; a town hundreds of kilometre from the city centre of Gwagwalada, Abuja.
Having lived in Gwagwalada for about 12 years at that time, I could have sworn I knew every town in the local government or at least heard of it but ‘rural rugged’ took me to this hidden town that we accessed after driving through two streams, bypassing a giant mountain the government blasted to access them, and voila! We arrived this town that had more Cattles than humans; serene, lush and still.
I was torn between my love for the serenity and my desire for civilization however basic (electricity, education and water). I wasn’t sure it will be the same the next time I visited… So, I sat on top one of the rocks and paid homage to the home without chandelier.
By Liza Chuma Akunyili on .
Exported from Medium on February 2, 2026.
Create with Me
Do you have a project my creativity can help enhance? Let us work together to birth it.