Crush your competitor

I’m sitting here
watching a very expensive
lawnmower chew its way
through the neighbour’s tall grass,
spitting out a fine, green mist
that eventually settles
on my side of the fence.

It’s a beautiful machine, really—
the kind of engine
that makes a sound
like a very large cat
purring in a very small room.

The neighbour paid a fortune for it,
no doubt because it promised
to dominate the landscape,
to leave every blade of fescue
trembling in its wake.

But what the brochure didn’t mention
is the law of the spillover.

You see, the mower does all the heavy lifting—
the gasoline-fed anger,
the spinning blades of “Market Research,”
the sheer, loud effort of being First.

And yet, here I am,
standing in my slippers,
watching the neighbour’s expensive wind
blow all the freshly cut scent
into my yard,
inviting a dozen local bees
to take a look at my humble clover
now that the big noise
has shown them the way.

It reminds me of those giant billboards
you see on the highway—
the ones for a famous brand of cola
that cost more than my first house.
They scream at you for five miles
until you’re so thirsty
you pull off at the first gas station
and buy a generic root beer
just because the billboard reminded you
that your throat was a desert.

In the biology of the department store,
the biggest whale in the tank
can’t help but be a generous host.
It displaces so much water
that even the smallest minnow
gets a free ride to the surface.

So, let them sharpen their blades.
Let them spend the millions
on the loud, percussive “Crushing.”

I’ll just stay here,
leaning against this fence,
waiting for the breeze
to bring the customers my way—
hitchhiking on a scent
I didn’t have to pay a dime
to grow.

Majekodunmi O. Ebhohon is a Nigerian poet and playwright. He is the author of ‘The Great Delusion’, winner of the ANA Prize for Drama, 2025. He writes from Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria.
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