Glaring enough, yet left ignored,

It reads, "seen this man yet?"

With a phone number inscribed,

Half-erased for it's always wet.

Folks turn away and walk their way,

Leaving the note to its own course.

Something's off but they won't say,

Perhaps, the man has met with His source.

The picture lying helplessly on the board,

Everyone's clueless about his whereabout.

His family longs to find him but can't afford,

Electricity, not good, intermittent blackout.

The last note on the community Board,

Remains a plea in silence, long ignored.

Ajibade, Hannah Toluwani is a writer and poet. A penultimate-year student, at the University of Lagos. She honed her craft through a 30-day writing challenge, with a strong passion for poetry and spoken word. Her writing often navigates themes of identity, social justice and personal growth, reflecting her experiences as a young Nigerian woman. Her work appears in Whereintheworld Magazine. A winner of the Evergreen Wishes Christmas Anthology, 2024.

Authors Notes: The poem,_The Last Note on the Community Board_ correlates with "Community" in the sense that it explores themes of neglect, mystery and societal indifference. It paints a picture of a missing person whose plea for help represented by the note on the community board –is repeatedly ignored. The final line emphasizes how society turns a blind eye to issues that don't directly affect them. There's also an undertone of helplessness –the family wants to find their loved one but lacks the financial means and external factors like an unreliable power supply (symbolizing instability) further hinder their efforts.