MY WORDS
Sitting sorrowfully begging for alms
From passersby with outstretched arms
Cool, collected and wonderfully calm
Waiting for men to bless his palms
Sun-scourging was the day
My muse drove me his way
To bless him with no pay
But with words which I say
Upon me he gazed with hope
But listen to me I quote
I’ve neither money nor a coat
But I shall swear an oath
My oath to you is a song
A short poem not long
That will make the weak strong
And turn the old young
With eyes to heaven raised
At the scourging sun I gazed
To sing my oath to him;
And thus my muse praised
I’ve neither silver nor gold
But my treasure lies here
In the song of the swallow
In the wisdom of the ants
The fervency of the honey bees
The timeliness of the cricket’s whistle
The art of the insects' twitter
The tireless journey
Of the sun across the sky
And the deepness of the night
Envying the moon’s diadem
Crowned with the diamond stars
And in the cock-a-dle-doo
And my joy is this
Living in a world
Away from here
Where no tear gully
The crocodile’s face
Where we seek no riches
But where lies all riches
And the greatest wisdom
When I finished singing my song
Away he flung the bag he hung
And rose to his feet strong
Revived and determined to long.
BEHIND THE CLOUD
It was hopeless
Like an earthquake in the dark
How the lions collapsed in grieve
When the wind struggled her ways
Through thorns moaning
To seize your crown
Unfortunate one
How marvelous
When the lions gallivant
To the melodious sound
Of the wind meandering through roses
To crown you again
In luminous ruby
Gracious one
THE TONGUE OF FIRE
(For Onoja Agalama)
Was it an elegy he blew?
In that year of mesmerism
That with the flute he told a story
Of you, the immortalized you
That our hearts fell into our hands
To show our grieve: our joy?
For the known hid in the unknown
And darkness chum with light
In a dramatic display of irony
As the flutist took our souls captive
The merciless man blew wickedly
Ignoring our frets in gesticulations
As the knees of men knocked quivering
But his face beamed with smile
As his crooked fingers manipulated
Telling an ancient tale unknown
Of you, that valiant that is you
How the dull cloud tamed the sun
How the ugly night married the moon
But was it an elegy he blew?
Then suddenly his smiles dissolved
His ugly face wrinkled into frowns
His fingers quaked like a chameleon
We searched the soil for our tears
But non seem to have fallen
And then like a revelation from the ancestors
It came very clearly
When the mighty python saw the Iroko
The Iroko stood like a mountain
Taken aback the strong python moved
Slowly at the Iroko to lock horns
Let the greater swallow the lesser
But the indomitable python has seen a prey
A prey that looked very like a predator
Caution! Why is the tortoise so wise?
Valour is only caution, great one
The teeth must chew with caution
When the food becomes tough
Lest the tongue is bitten
Lest the devourer is devoured
Lest the wise becomes the fool
Strength without caution is foolishness
In that year of the great trial
Lizards were then few in the forest
And the valiant python was only a youth
When the great light met with darkness
Then we saw marvelously
The revelation of the evils: the mayhems
That lurks under the coverlid of darkness
How the crickets wailed by the ancient shrine
How ghosts thread upon the sacred bones
In that divine ancestral cave
Under the coverlid of the mischievous night
Then the great light met darkness
In a terrible struggle for supremacy
But how can darkness withstand light
You were that great warrior: the sun
Shooting rays, arrows of darting rays
Piercing that which looked like a predator
Devouring that which looked like a devourer
Alas! You wore a crown of victory
Lo! You are that great light, immortalized one
Our flutes shall make songs for you
Our feet shall not be tired of dancing
You may smile, oh troubled flutist smile!
Your story is clear and our tears have not fallen yet!
But lo our tear ducts are dried forever
The market square is filled again
To sing and dance to the python
For your elegy has turned eulogy
Behold! Valour is only caution!
A HOME OF BLISS
How long shall this swinging earth
Out of our carapace shake us
To mingle with filths and dirt
From the deeds of men and thus
Frown at the lips of fools that flap
And to the wisdom of the wise clap
When all that count is the heart
Where proceeds words and arts
To soothe the pains of humanity
For too short oh man is life
And the earth a home of captivity
Out of which you can’t get alive
For all that matter is this
Make this world a home of bliss.
REGURGITATION
Yesterday
This Milky Way
Was bright and beautiful
The moon
On the way strolled with sway
Crowned with the beautiful stars
Shedding light
To expel this darkness
But this morrow
The cosmos of past glory
Shed rainy tears
In sorrow
And
Those stars of diamond crown
Forsook their realm of mighty glory
Falling aground
Thus
The sky rumbled
The land crumbled
The sea mumbled
The darkness of yesteryears
Have strolled in reinforced
To engulf the land
And now we are left
Groping in the dark
Colliding headlong
Dancing to the unpleasant tune
Pandemonium and woe…
Alas! Darkness is here
The sun has refused to shine.
RISE
Rise!
The sky reddens with rays again
Darkness is defeated and done anon
The Niger bears the sun for us
Crickets cry no more my son
Rise!
The ghost lurks behind trees no more
The trodden seeds have blossomed
And the bats have gone for rest
Shadows now prepare to lengthen
Rise!
No man snores and smiles
Quit the blanket and join the struggle
The crows perch on our broken fences
Who will yoke the oxen for us?
Rise!
The bed is still but your blood runs
A man is meant to struggle and thus
Your heart beats and never stops till death
Toil and moil are the keepers of life
Rise! My son, rise and now!
Approach the bull and hold the horn
Sweat today and not tomorrow
For after the thunder and lightening
Sleep, my son, comes like the rain.
DESTINY DAY
When the day came
The hours crept like cripples
Deepening the anxieties of men
Rushing about like zombies
Another millennium is to steal in
A year all fingers pointed
For the mighty trumpet might blast
And eternity usher in
Men their lust and luxury discarded
And the penitent assumed
Sorrow took men captive
For the doom of sinners shall be spelt
The eve was dark and deep
The stars blinked in mockery
The moon hid his face
Lest the doom of men might behold
The chapel was filled abrim
As men awaited the lord
To be paid in their coins
From their dossier of deeds
Seconds turned hours
Men shivered to the tick tock of the clock
Sounds of heavy breathing filled the air
As the destiny day drew near
And alas the 00 hours
The chapel door opened slightly
Men fainted for fear
For the lord has come to spell out doom
But no trumpet sounded
One minute two minutes and three
No son of man came
And five minute all were still
The conscious gamboled for joy
Clapping and singing with might
The unconscious woke up
2000 AD has met us alive.
LIFE
(For Magnus)
What can life be likened to?
A wilderness to come and go
That man may not be proud of what they sow
For they shall vanish like the snow
Life is like the sun
For we today are and tomorrow gone
And turn a dish for the worms
Just like we’ve never been born
What can we take life to be?
A land where we dwell in dreams
That ceases to be when we wake
And never will come when we beckon
Life methinks is like a candlestick
The longer it burns the shorter it becomes
And goes down until it quenches
And shall no more be remembered
What do you think life is?
A thing that runs madly
And in the grave ends sadly
And forgotten immediately.
SERMON
My son:
Pull out your brain
Laugh it to scorn
Descend:
Into this cave of ancient bones
And there make your feast
Rise!
Wield wisdom a weapon
The wine that never loses taste.
BEAUTY
When seventy seasons shall weaken my limbs
And seventy harmattans shall leak up gorges
All distributed round my wrinkled body
And age the heartless terminator of youth
Shall my myself laden till I stoop
And myself like the weed worthless
Then I to my third leg shall cling
And like the chameleon shall hoop
And my face a thing so ferocious
Or a subject of mockery to the young
And gazing into my sunken eyes
And a grotesque head on a squalid neck
A curious youth might want to know
And ‘old Billy who carved your image thus’
My image means nothing to me child
And ‘old Billy where lies your beauty’
My beauty is not hidden child
Look at my grotesque head
The ugliness is but an irony to its content
Look at my bony fingers
With them I’ve conquered kingdoms
Where I rule over the daintiest of beings
And this pen filthy with age
Is but the sharpest sword ever made
Cling to it and never let it go
Great heads shall before you bow
HOW I WISH YOU WERE HERE
How I wish you were here, my love
To see how the sun after smiling over me
Descended to kiss the sea
In the sight of my watchful eyes
So long! Oh long! Very long!
And when harmony overtook their souls
The sun in the form of an apple
Dissolved sweetly into the sea
Sweetly, Yes!
Inviting the beautiful stars
To cloth the blue sky
Blinking to mock my solitude
Then my lips parted but never met yours
Only your name came out
But how I wish you were here
My Angel.
THE TRAVELLER OF TWO PATHS
Journeying through the forest of life
Thorny and filled with strife
Cruel are the grasses:
Cutting as steely as knife
But our minds are set
In this ship we must sail on
To the end we must get
Rowing with determination
Getting to the high mountains
Where sages from the ends of the earth
Go to chant praises to fate
In wisdom and in truth
I saw a gloomy griot
Slate in hand and eyes to heaven
Chanting a melancholy strain
In solitude
What is man! Oh man!
And the glory of man in man
Gloomier grew the griot
The countenance of Don Quixote
When his quixotic deeds were done
He cried at birth
They smiled at him
He goes in death
They cried for him
All these while
Pelting the windmill
With vigour and determination
In dreams and hallucinations
To wake on the other side
Of his short and tiresome life
Oh man! What an irony!
A traveler of two paths!
When the content of his slate got exhausted
Into the thin air vanished my griot
And gazing at the sky I beheld
The rising sun is set
Too late to make a hay!
MY DOVE
My dove is the sun
What a perfect metaphor!
From its abyss it emerges
Shooting rays at dawn
Expelling the ruler of the night
Majestically and glamorously
It parades the sky and laughs over the head
Sending shadows dashing under their owners
But lo! The peak is reached
Reluctantly it goes down
Its beautiful rays made blurred
Dejectedly it enters its abyss
Darkness replaces light
Beauty vanishes
Where is your pride; my wayward dove?
STILLBORN
Dreams horrible
Nights deep
Days harsh
Where is the messiah?
Faces tear-gullied
Hearts fear’s abode
Endless echoes of wail
Bones sailing in streams of blood
The stomach hunger filled
Kwashiorkor swollen
Starvation a friend
Men skeleton-squalid
My weak and quaky feet brought me out
Out of that oven I call a room
To receive the harsh stormy air
To look around for possible help
From the horizon emerged a chubby figure
Here comes the messiah at last
Anon to him ho for help
Strong-smelling fragrance
Gold-ringed fingers
Looks commanding
Heavy portfolio
Can I help with the portfolio?
Never mind, it contains dollars
Can I go with you, I might help?
Where I go you cannot come
Gazing sternly ahead he pointed
I’m going to that villa called the rock
There to dot my undotted ‘i’s
And to cross my uncrossed ‘t’s
I don’t care what you do there
But when will this storm end?
He gazed into my eyes enraged
And there I saw what I can’t tell
Heart heavier
Storm harsher
Omen…hmn…omen
My feet took me back to my oven
My room at least is mine
SONG OF HOPE
Like a plant in arid ground
But only like a plant in arid ground
Never comely nor captivating
Fallen and forgotten, not doomed
In the palms of the scourging sun
But to bake and season for seasons
For the night shall be over; day is near
Tribulation is only courage
For after the terrible bark of the thunder
Comes the consoling shower of the rain
Then the root in arid ground
Shall bear fruits to feed men
Then the rejected shall be gazed upon
Tribulation is only courage; my friend.
THE WEDLOCK OF WICKEDNESS
The sun was reluctant to quit burning
But when the horizon swallowed it
The moon came to patch the sky
And the ghosts lurked behind trees
To watch the tiny stars blink
She waited for the appointed time
Lying comfortably in her coven
Crushing the ants upon which she laid
Half-smiling licking the blood stains
Which upon her forky fingers lingered
And when the time came
The owls gripped the wood hooting
She in croaky laughter climbed her feet
And majestically drew her weird sword
To spell doom upon the loose sand
Like a monk of a demonic order
She approached the sacred oak naked
There to swear love with Lucifer
In blood curling languages
Her hair flowed after her
The earth lay helplessly
Watching the flame of the holocaust
But suddenly the thunder reared
And lightning struck fiercely
As the insects twittered happily
And when the day broke
The vultures gathered for a feast
To devour that which devoured
And when the sun came again
It laughed over the evil groove
Like a victorious wrestler
Gazing upon his victim
IT IS WELL
The water came crashing
Down the mountain top
Digging graves deep enough
For tears to flow
Dancing down the slope
Hauling stones at hearts
And the pool
Patching smiles on faces
For a delinquent swell
In the silo of greed
But the sun is out
Hot to leak the foul moisture
The day at least is nigh
It is well.
WEATHERED ROCK
The treasure within the core
In the land of the once blind
And all these while they sat
On a golden stool unknown
But in peace and harmony they fared
Then came the wild wind
The tornado that swept away
All the heritage of the land
And lifted the veil covering faces
To see the stool upon which they sat
When men beheld it
Their hearts ran faster
And necks craned
Upon the land with desire
Behold the magnificent mountain amidst plain
They exclaimed
But that mountain of gold
To which peace is sold
To make miners bold
Sad tales are today told
The tussle for treasure has
Wounded many
Crippled many
Maimed many
And many have gone beyond
Now the rock is weathered
And the giant is fallen asleep!
THE THORNY ROSE
Rays of a million stars
Dazzled capitulatingly upon the anthill
Hypnotizing and enchanting the doves
Joyfully hovering above circling
To adore the angel of light
Which in beauty came?
But....
As if in jubilation
The sky rumbled and the sea mumbled
But irony hung thickly in the misty air
And....
When the sun struggled out of the horizon
The bright rays went faint
And the doves saw beyond their noses
For....
The stars had the eyes of a tiger
And the moon had worn borrowed robes
All laid bare before the sun
And now that the scale has fallen
Behold the bull and buffalo!
THE SWALLOWS ARE HERE AGAIN
I
Hands ajaw watching the world
Swinging its course round the sun
Going and coming from circle to circle
Like a phoenix from a funeral dust
Spelling the tales of life on a slate
Read aloud from lips that care
Some with the face flooded in tears
And but few with wrinkles in smiles
As every man dictates his own destiny
II
When the flesh after the vain lusts
The flesh shall with the vain be lost
For good friends often hand in hand
Shall go to their most beloved land
Of the vain the end which is death
The fate of those caught in his net
That leaves them with regrets never told
When even the boldest is then not bold
For the world like water flows with us
III
The sorriest thing that enters hell is not sin
But he that procrastinates when he has seen
Villains hanging down the gibbet cold
But continues his foul quest for gold
For nemesis never has been known to miss
In bringing culprits to their knees
And make others tell their tales in tears
As they in death’s jaw bone disappears
All but to teach man his lessons
IV
This earth of the foolish and the stubborn
Where the virtuous are laughed to scorn
But shall someday read their scrolls in smiles
And thank their fate that they were nice
Beholding the agonies of them that were vain
As they languish in an untold able pain
Too late to turn the hands of their clock
As the façade unveils to their plight unfold
And now the swallows are here again.
PORTHARCOURT
The journey!
Long and tedious journey
Then the garden city
With mosquitoes bidding me welcome
And the all day rain to compliment
Then the prices!
Hair raising prices
For all are oil bourgeoisies
Save the whores on the streets
Desperate for customers
And welcomed indeed
Now I see
A magnificent city by the sea!
THE SEASON TO SOW
Yesterday a voice wandered from the woods
And in my ears got entrapped
So sweet and lovely it sang
Carrying joy yet mixed with sorrow
It came from the sapient swallow
The fore-runner of the summer
Loud and clear it beckoned
To men both sage and naughty
Arise you that idle all day
Sleep no more you that slumber
Let gossips that vain job quit
The planting season is here again
It’s time for men their fate decide
A time for the wise to toil and moil
A time for the sluggard to sleep and snore
A time to sow wealth and poverty
Let the wise sow his oat
And the fool his wild oat
Make your bed as you like it
As a Man sow shall he reap
CHILDHOOD
Time is a thief
For swiftly it has robbed me
My childhood is gone
But if I would my ways have
I would on the wish-horse gallop
To that blissful kingdom
There I knew no shame
Gambolling and playing about naked
Running here and there with friends
For no one cared
And if anyone did I didn’t
There I was wealthy
Building mansions in the air
For all goats were mine
Until the owner took them away
Then I in tears will to my mother complain
‘I would buy you another goat’
And that too would be mine
I was a warlord too
Wrapped in my imaginations
I conquered kingdoms
And my mother was my queen
As she sang ballads to me every night
Then taking her position by my side
And together would sleep.
There I could fly too
Inspired by the birds I saw
I would close my eyes and flap my hands
But when I would open my eyes I would discover
I had no wings and so could not fly
I was but a human being
A hunter indeed I was
Equipped with my bow and arrows
I hunted lizards and frogs as games
Praising myself for every target I hit
And brooding over every target I missed
Learning and improving on abilities
Lo! Poets are children
Expressing feelings as they come
Laughing and crying as time demands
All to lift the burdens of the heart
Behold! Children are poets.
THE MURKY MORN
(To Maji)
On that morning you embarked on the inevitable journey
That our tears and wails couldn’t affect you decision....
The rays of the rising sun shot arrows
And the toads ran sluggishly into the earth
The fowl air gathered upon the Iroko tree
Chocking the birds deserting their eggs
Flapping furiously but vainly in escape
Then the tears of the sky poured freely
And the fossils of ancient bones unearth
Sailing around to retell past tales of sorrow
And the crickets whistle in their lonely holes
Like an ancient flutist blowing a dirge...
Yet you refused to come back
Hmn!
BEHIND THE MASK
The cock now is a bell
And a harmonious rise with smile
Appreciative of the marvellous handiwork
Of the mighty God of the ancestors
Now is a painful jerk
From a sharp tintinnabulating sound
By thunder why did I wake up?
That misty morning on which they came
That the gods for annoyance kept the sun captive
With shaky voices through long noses they spoke
Their lips doctored with charms from their god of oratory
And our young men thus enchanted went wild
Left hoes for termites, farms for weed
To the town in haste they ran
Our ways are barbaric! May thunder take note!
Leaving idols hungry and compounds bushy
To sing and dance to strange gods
To suffer terrible infirmities
Of the body and of ethics too.
AT SUNRISE WITH YOU
Gaze on dear love
At the distant horizon
And there see the fingers
Of the sun in bright rays
Reaching out for the sky
Above the flowering lands
Like an image of true love
Ah! What a glowing beauty
Like the smile on your face.
And now may you gaze
At the bosom of the Atlantic
As the blue sea holds the sun
Upon her palm soft and cool
Like a delicious bowl of love
For the beautiful dolphins
To wine and to dine thereupon
As they dive out in utmost joy
Like that which I found in you
And where the woods stand together
Telling of true unity and harmony
See the rays of the beautiful sun
Dancing upon their gentle leaves
Swaying happily to welcome
The warmth brought from above
And the birds sing upon the trees
Ah! What a peaceful scenario
Like that which you gave to me.
And now that you have risen
Like the beautiful morning sun
To divorce my bosom of solitude
You may now occupy my heart
With the shiny rays of your love
And linger there till time is nigh
When destiny shall crown us both
Before the alter of Adam and eve
Perfect specimen of true lovers.
SACRIFICIAL GIRL
My daughter
Fairer than the sun
Dearer than gold
But you may not know I love her
We are the black powers of the land
The indomitable valiant warriors
Our murderous machetes are red
With blood of victims accumulated
Our swords are soaked and drip
Our enemies fall and eat dust
Our names mean death
To the that dare
Do you think I don’t love her?
Yet our tubers of yam the best
Yet our pride, peace and pleasure
They come and away they cart
Yet we remain cool and calm
I love her the most!
But she must go
Into the bosom of the earth alive
And there rot away
Because I love her the most
My people shall serve no more
Her blood has paid the price
Alas! The puppet lords have been slashed
Upon us they now look as lords
I love you my beloved daughter Inikpi.
THE PRICE
The weather was harsh and tormenting
But it hung on not willing to let go
Time toddled along carelessly
Bringing the fair and foul
With them he saw days and ages
Faring in determination and endurance
And when he endured his circle to pass
Like the grey hair he went brown
Ripe for death to reap in peace
And for ‘BRAVO’ to be hailed upon
And when that moment of transition came
The air breathed at last upon it
Gently but proudly it went down
Bidding the parent tree goodbye
Swinging glamorously to embrace the earth
Kissing the dust to send a message thus
‘You shall do the same one day
If in hardship you don’t faint’
SOLILOQUY
(An old man bewails a moribund culture)
There he sits
On a hairless skin
Smoking his dirty pipe
Revealing his sunken cheek
Emitting smoke from blackened nostrils
And from a scantily toothed mouth
Nodding at nothing
But ruminating the past
Sceptic of the present
Fearing for the future
He frowned his face
His hand went ajaw
There were men
Brave and strong
And I was one
That was then
The sun was only rising
The moon had not departed
The sky was still bright
And my blood was hot
He drew close to the fire
There to warm his blood
Increasing the cracks on his feet
Smelly from the smoke
Clutching his dirty lappa
He paused to crane here and there
They are all gone
Gone with the time
When the swords of the great
Were caked with blood
And the test of manhood
Lay in the number of skulls
Under his bamboo bed
But that was then
He scratched his scaly skin
Spat out a jelly-like spittle
Slapped his grey-haired head
Searched with his bony fingers
Brought out a lice
Crushed it
Today…hmn…today
They now learn foreign ways
Weeds now take over farms
Compounds are now bushy
Because they’ve all gone insane
He carefully tightened his teeth
Closed his eyes and gnashed them
But no tears came down
Where is the tortoise shell?
Will he recover it again?
Where is the brotherhood
Of the tiger and the leopard?
And why are the doves
No more in pairs?
We’ve left our corn unwatched
And the birds have eaten them all
A strange hurricane
Have swept away our heritage
Only debris remains!
He painfully rose to his feet
Clutched his walking stick
Limped into a lonely hut
Leaving a deserted compound behind
The sun is gone and darkness is here
The moon has refused to shine.
I’VE SWORN
I’ve sworn and truly have I
The world I shall love no more
For she is to me all sore
To her praises a finger to my ear
Lest I be fooled to dance in tears
Neither to her jokes my laughter offer
Nor cry to her even when I suffer
Admonitions to her is flogging a horse
Dead to contrition and remorse
A monster with a smiling mask
Love to whom is an impossible task
On this water to my canoe paddle
I shall dine but with a long ladle
I’ve sworn and truly have I
THE TALE OF THE TEMPEST
(To Raphael and Nwandu)
Insects many a night twittered to my dilemma
Like a lonely man they knew I was
And my insomnia it seemed they cured
A lullaby to sing me asleep offered
But thoughts unanswered are thieves of rest
Why? Oh why? But why?
Yesterday two shiny stars fell
Yesterday phiddipides ended his race unfinished
Yesterday they left us heavy hearted
Only yesterday! To be excellent civilians
Is the battle not for the strong?
My voice in rivalry asked me
Indeed the quandary of a lonely orphan
Seeking solace in the hands of the almighty
To illuminate his dark unknown paths
Is the race not for the swift?
But the night is almost spent
And the day at least is near
How I wish the cock would crow.
MY DREAM
Prayer fervent
Exam hard
Selection board critical
Oh blessed is me
A Cadet I’ve become at last
And the preparation
Extending my days of desire
And finally here I come
The academy of my dream
But is this the academy of my dream?
Frowns were my welcome bid
Threats greeted my guest hood
Oh no something is wrong
But at the horn I must take the bull
My hunch was the carriage
That took me here and there
And after what looked like a century
We got to the den of agony
Like wheel we rolled
And the frogs seeing us were vexed
That man could perform their art better
And the knocks that came from time to time
And when the job marshal saw we were tired
“Sit on your heads” he gushed to give us rest
But how else can a man sit on his head?
But “by way and manner” we did it
Even rest was not easy
Painful messages went to and fro
Noses watered, eyes reddened, necks testified
Deep into limbo we sank
“Jump up" was the messiah
That deferred the “job”
“Welcome to the academy of your dreams”
Welcomed indeed we were.
STILLBORN
Like the echoes of wails
In that land where cows graze
Where men bathed in tears
And stirred into empty sockets
Nay! Not the hunger
For hope filled their stomachs
And energized their nerves
To suffer, smile the sink
Not the wounds of course
Blood oozing like springs
Painting the soil red and horrible
For in this they are capped heroes
My tears flow for you, zombie!
You innocent instrument of terror
At the wake of your dream is shock
Trauma! A stillbirth at wake
MEDLEY
I remember
In those old good days
Snakes were not so plenty
Mosquitoes sang melodious song
Malaria only gave rest
The sun never burned but caressed
The rain showered no flood
The thunder only warned
Bees were too busy to sting
People didn’t die went beyond
And with the ancestors communed
And peace they brought
Oh yes I remember
And very well too
In those good ancient days
The moon count our months
And the birds with their songs
Announced the season
Then we would feed the land
With seeds and tubers
And upon the gods waited
To be fed in thousand fold
I remember
There lay the village square
Where with our might we would dance
To the melodious strains of the ogba beats
Under the silvery eyes of the moon
And there buried our sorrows
And into our huts retired
To seek the comfort of our bamboo beds
And the protection of the gods
I now remember
Amichi’s hut stood yonder
And there we drank gruel
And tales of old she would tell
And our palms blessed with water and spittle
Oh Amichi’s hut
Now replaced with a hollow hill
A grotesque rocky structure
Which they now call house
Oh Amichi’s hut
Aha! I now remember
And bitterly do I recall it
Oh this memory of mine
What a great sorrow you cause me
To that ours which was civilize
They came and called barbaric
Alas theirs which was barbaric
They dosed into us bit-by-bit
May thunder bear me witness
Ours is the civilization
Theirs is the modernization.
…IN REMINISCENCE
When men lived in the forests
Cutting each others’ throat
Rejoicing at the sounds of fallen bodies
Smiling at skeletons
The swiftest killer would drink gruel
From his ornamental bowl
The best shaped skull of his victims
An example to the youths
The song of maidens
But travelling through time
Arriving in our days bewildered
Startled at the catastrophic arts of men
For we are advanced indeed.
WISE ONE
When shadows elongated and faded
And darkness the land engulfed
The moon from its hideout peeped
And upon the night ruled
Round the fire we’d sit
And the wisdom of the wise one sought
“Tell us tales” we’d quote
And on the crumbs of his wisdom feed
Otinalo the old and the wise
His head he’d depress and shake
His grand beard held in thought
Then folk chorus he’d intone
Long and loud we’d clap and sing
And yarns of old he’d tell and teach
Until sleep our eyes made heavy
Then to our huts retired fed and full
CAUTION
The music is a snail
But your dance steps is a lightning
Like an eruption among chameleons
Unable to take refuge
A DIRGE TO ADEMOWAGUN
Unto this wavy sea ourselves found
The struggle thus started
You never sink but sailed you did
And for a yardstick I gazed on you
But into the grave too soon you digagara
Like that soldier hero Sankara
The thought so bitter like the waters of Mara
Encountered by the children of Sera
It was Ikechukwu
And now it is you
Why must the earth the cannibal act
Her own seeds she devours
Sitting sorrowfully deep a thought
Leg stretched and hands a-jaw
Into your days of exuberance I travel
You are gone but shall linger long in Burma
BARTER OF BLOOD
It was for them a day to smile
And adieus say to the Nile
To travel a thousand mile
And meet with men hostile
And thus
With haste
Eat standing
Meat roasted
Herbs bitter
Loins girth
Feet shod
Staff handy
Lintels bloody
But what a victory!
Magnificent dweller of heavens
For drowned were the heathens
But four decades it took of lessons
To a place give for footings
But for us
Lamb of God
Hung a’ cross
In atonement
Then three
Spent a’ grave
Waging war
Lintels bloodless
What a victory!
For the begotten son of the father
Has washed my sins cleaner
Than the lambs of the Passover
Giving me an eternity of laughter!
DOWN HILL
That day that runs at me
The wings of swift moments
When my days would be done
Oh that faces may in pains frown
Oh that flood may of tears flow
Oh that hearts may of grief be laddened
Oh that tooth may gnash for loss
When my sun gets dark
And my heart still
When my blood goes cold
And my home six into the earth
May men beat their chest
And thus query the claws of death
‘Why take the virtuous away?’
And when my flesh goes
To feed the starving worms
And my bones a treasure
Of the earth to in captivity hold
Oh that men may of me sing
Songs to scoundrels scold
And the infants instruct
And when memories are laid to rest
In the junk-yard of history
Oh that mine may dwell
On the lips of the sage for long
And a nutritious food indeed
To feed the minds of men
A creed noble and wise
And when ages come and go
And on the sea of time sail
Away from the days I dwelt
Oh that my name may sail
Along with them in minds
From age to age unend
And the greats are counted
Oh that they may say of me
‘A man indeed he was’
MY JOY
Poets of distant past
Spoke to me like Dutch uncles
And with their pens my puzzles stabbed
With words that cool the heart
Dictions tailored to beautify countenance
Wrapped under the blanket of sorrow
Shedding dumb tears of agony
The head hauling thought at my heart
My words soundless to relay sentiments
Then came the sapient Dutch uncles
With too many devices setting my thoughts protesting
Tenderly into the ears of my mind they spoke
Peels of energy: waters of wisdom poured on me
Words that made me lighter than my laddened self
‘Ponder the pen’s potent power’, they persuaded
And there I found my weapon of warfare
Sharper than the sword; shattering the soul
Setting prisoners of sentiments free indeed
Then like a Jew I found my Zion
I’ve got the mouth to tell my tales at last
Not the type that traced contours on my cheeks
Nay for sorrow is obsolete; my joy is my pen.
MY ROSE
I have lived many a day
In the desert of withered rocks
Of barren trees bearing thorns
And a double dose of the hot sun
But this afternoon I saw a mirage
Far into the distant skyline
Stood a beautiful mountain of roses
And there pray I must rest myself
Waiting the rain to cool my feet.
THE SACRIFICE
Loud was the cry for freedom
Louder than the cries of victor’s victims
And gazing at the beautiful land
His royal head divulged a way out
An image clear to the blind’s sight
And made sharper by the wails of widows
A stronger force surging up latent strength
And behind the walls of his palace
Before his throne he fell and wept
Kissing hands carrying heavy hearts
And his daughter doomed to save souls offered
Smiling with a tear smeared face she took the cross
And lying six feet into the earth with eyes open
She drank the cup to save the kingdom
ECHOES
Sobs, wails, lamentations
From beyond are distinct
Ancestors lie uneasy in their graves
Plea
The pot into which you leap is evil
Roast not in the devil’s holocaust
Sow no wind, reap no whirl wind
Resolution
Flog a dead horse no more
Hearts are hardened, minds are made-up
Mammon has inflicted men with deafness.
PRODIGAL
Like in a trance
Visions of bliss flowed at his feet
And his imaginations sculpt for him beauties
In fanciful expectations and anxiety
All rendered wind like by vanity
For he got success in iniquity
Lost it in his lust
Losing his life too.
TO THE WARLORD
The stench of blood is pleasant
Fallen bodies is only a prove of power
The graves of men to him is treasure
There is melody in the wailings of the bereaved
Mother and lover were the materials
With which his fetish pot was made
And the water goddess was the doctor
By whom his flesh was cooked
And cooked he slashed and scattered
Kingdoms went up in smoke
He conquered and annexed
And in laughter he announced
‘They are the people of heaven’
But he was conquered
Alas in peace the warlord ate dust
Fraternal assegais trafficked his body
And his remains fed the vultures
But that was only the beginning
Of a lot of defeats to come
For devilishly he turned round
And upon his conquerors gazed
‘The Whiteman shall conquer you all’
He gushed and gave up.
THE HEROES
Alexander of Macedonia is not great
Julius of Rome is no hero
Napoleon lived but in imaginations
Chaka the Bantu is a brave vandal
Hitler is a destructive beast
For nothing they gave to our minds nourishes
And wantonly they denied bodies of life
Heaping bones and rots of spoils
Happily holding swords dripping blood
Praising themselves over widows and orphans
My lyric is for the true great men
Who though in our days never lived
But scrolls firmly tucked in armpits
They sailed with the wind of time
And in our days arrived
To feed us from their bowls of wisdom
With their spoons of knowledge
They fought no war but with the pen
They conquered no kingdoms but the minds of men
The citadel of knowledge is but their handiwork
And with their thought the world’s famine feed
They are the true heroes
To them my praise is lavished.
RHAPSODY OF IRONY
Its twelve midnight again!
The cold breeze crept silently
Over the red complexioned land
Smelly of worms and slimy maggots
Feeding fat and breeding freely
The owls hoot from the woods
Calling the cats to parley
And smiling fiendishly they swagger
To inspect their rotten canines
Spinning yearns of wickedness
And sneaking through the blanketed night
A rat drags her wounded tail mournfully
Over the thorn riddled savannah
Like a homeless Jew through a Gestapo
Maybe to let sleeping cats lie
But ‘throw mercy to the dogs!’
The cry of the first cat was blood curling
‘How I love to crush bones at night!’
Wailed the second salivating profusely
And they all cried similarly
The pursuit ensued swiftly
Whiskers standing like spears
Merciless claws flew to grab
As predators were desperate to prey
And the prey to preserve despair
‘Our canine shall be red again!’
Exclaimed the third reaching for her tail
‘How I love to crush skulls at night!’
Salivated the fourth admiring her head
Then from a distance
Came the bow-wow
The cats recoiled giving up the pursuit
And the rat stopped giving up the escape
To bear excruciating pains of preyship
But the predators ran for their dear lives
And irony reigned with diadem
As the rat looked-on with pleasure
Lo we are the rats and you are the cats
You may wine and dine on our crying blood
Yet we know your looming fate
You are hypnotized cats admiring you whiskers
Awaiting the claws of the dog
The claws of nemesis.
AND THE SCALE FELL…
(For the awakening, dark and re-awakening age)
Sonorous seraphs sang soothing the mind
Cherubs bearing torch for the feet
But choruses of contempt greeted
The angels from the lips of the papyrus
The nutritious ink of the sapient
Vexed
Away they flounced
And the earth chastised with darkness
Of the mind
And of creativity too
But
When the scale fell
Barrenness of the brain
Stared horribly at faces
Thus the chorus changed
To a clamour of despair:
‘Come
You angels of the sage
Light our paths again!’
ONCE BITTEN
You are a scorpion
Jointed, fragile, weak
Helpless like a life-seeking scion
And the look in your eyes my help seek
Weakness could be innocence
Innocence begets tenderness
Tenderness ignites love
And in that I burned
But the scorpion is no friend
The hand bearing help you stung
Lashing pains with your waggy tail
But patience cools the red hot iron
The pain is gone but the scar is here
I shall be deceived no more
Not by thorns concealed in roses
Nor the beautiful coffin carrying rot
Lo my lesson is well learnt
A competent teacher indeed you are
Thanks for seasoned I’ve become
Ready to face all seasons.
NEW YEAR EVE
The sun came, smiled and went
The moon sat prominently amidst stars
Silvering the sky brightly ahead
As natures rhythmic melody echoes
`time is triangle;
past, present and future!’
The curly snaky waves of the sea
Beat upon time and chance
The breeze dragging through the duo
To witness to events and their heroes
Metamorphose into ballads and statues
For the future casted her shadow
Whirl winding upon the present
Swiftly sweeping her into the past
In elegies sang for the yet unborn
Even as infants nurse babies to death
And here tears mingle with smiles
The earth will begin to swing again
And as we ruminate our wasted days
The ship’s bell brought down the knell
`Ahoy!’ It sounded ‘a year is withered`
Chilly wails snow flaked the air
Yo…ho…ho…a year is fallen
Then it tintinnabulated again
`Behold` we listened` a year is born`
And hope told us it is a happy year
Grabbing hands to ourselves we swore
`Happy new year…..yeoman’
And ejaculations from our mouths pour
`The year still toddles on wobbling feet
But may we grow with it` we prayed.
BROTHERS IN DESTINY
(The union of heroes)
The day is over and darkness now hovers
Show no fear of me my friend
For I was made of flesh and blood
Though what lingers before you now
May be a convergence of memorial bits
Recurring as you saw me eat the dust
That day you raped me of dear life
But think of us good friends I pray
Found on the either side of the march
As we danced to political melodies
Or the cacophonies of a round table tussle
That left our air contaminated: me and you
With risen dust and poisonous gunpowder
But it is time to rest now my true friend
Weak from that fight I had with you
When you stabbed with strength so hard
Thrusting through me with your bayonet
And though my bones still lie on the fields
But now I must lie down and rest
And you may lie here beside me
Let us sleep upon their lustful pride
And let time devoid of any man’s doctoring
Weep our unshed tears upon their heads
And let’s wait for the leaves to go brown
For the wind will surely sweep them here
But in this place we may lie together
Tired of tears that greet our love
And of emotions that leave us barren
Pursuing their creed without their faith
Bending before their dreams and desires
Dosed into us from talented tongues
I bear no grudge for you my friend
My cries were only forgiveness muttered
And the pains have numbed with time
For now I feel no pains anymore
And here in communion we may live
Where no death waits upon our lives.
NEMESIS
Two like twins
Tall they towered
Like broomsticks upon a swinging ball
There the owls gather to wine and dine
And down they salivate upon the grasses
Smearing their wings with so much blood
Owls, mighty in strength
So much blood, I say
Chancing upon the blindness of the sun
Like darkness was the grave of men
And when groans attained monotony
The sun came with darting arrows of rays
The two, like twins
Tumbled and trimmed
Yet the owls ravage and rage
Carrying so much blood on their feathers
And that is why the vultures devour all day
For guilt has defied the face of shame
Yet carrying blood
So much blood
I say again!
TO THE SUN
Standing among the little hills
Where cows do have their meals
Of shrubs and delicious grass
Waiting the sun to come and pass
Where the land touches the sky
Mother said is where the sun lies
To rise silently upon the dawn
Climbing the sky to smile down
And looking upon the Niger
I saw an overwhelming wonder
Sailing gently upon her palm
Is the golden sun looking calm
MIRAGE
My heart lurches and trembles
At every bath of your hopeless glance
Sieving and sapping every positivism
Yet all you do is smile at my frets
The burden too heavy on my heart
And now I throw in the blanket
I’ve had enough of your troubles
Though you have a stone for a heart
But in time the scale will fall
You’ll see the sincerity of my love
Like a freshly tapped palm wine
Of which I was a dipsomaniac
But now I weep my pen to purge me
Of your love that will not be!
THE IDEAL MAN
Once upon a world of egotism and greed
Of abject poverty in the face of wealth
Where misery dwell behind the palace wall
Where the warriors and the princes were the lords
From the nobles came the lad
And in the palace he had his cradle
Like a prince he was schooled
And in the palace groomed a man
One fateful day curiosity led him by the hand
Outside the world of affluence to behold the ugliness
Of the world that laid next to the palace wall
The image carved by the selfishness of his caste
There curiosity left him and guilt led him back
Into that of greedily acquired gold and ruby
And burying his head a palm he found himself
In pangs of dilemma and pride-turned-shame
Is this the land of hallucination and mirage!
A land where man turn men beast
A land where birth is the worth of a man
No! a man should face reality squarely
Away from comfort he ran to seek reality
With neither luxury nor lust save his skin
In the wilderness to learn the realities of life
And like a man taste the milk of struggle
He hungered to value satisfaction
Shelter less to appreciate shelter and warmth
Lonely to learn friendliness and company
Struggled to learn humility and jettison pride
Thus baked he returned a Wiseman
To feed the starving from his bowl of experiences
With the spoon of knowledge wisdom he’d got
And thus the ideal man he became.
GREAT FOUNDER
Why not I in those days born to behold
The valiant father how tight his sword held
To teach sluggards how consequent and grave
It is to scorn laugh at the might of the brave
He slashed and his sword held to drip
The weaklings expelled their land to grip
Between water-adorned hills he found the land
A plain fertile enough to plant seeds a sand
To sprout someday of hard work evident
And after a hard toil and moil is efficient
Someday the young palm fruit shall mature
If death this tender seed does not abjure
Muttered he to himself determined
A city he built like a man.
MUSICOMANIA
They lie that call not music wine
I’ve been offered cups from these voices I hear
Taking from this realm to where I can’t tell
But let it sound on
Yes! Sound on and on indeed
For it has chiselled my wrinkles of frown
Into pleasant beams of smile and laughter
Oh! This is dipsomania
This unavoidable grip of pleasure
Sweetly chocking me like a bandit yet desirable
Lifting my spirit and scaring my sorrows away
But can this be real? I don’t care!
My hatred is at last made drunk into love
This is indeed another world in this world
A kingdom of happiness and joy
Where there is no word for sorrow
If music is wine then let me be drunk
For they are happy that drink music
In this wine there is truth and truth harmony
Music! Harmony! Joy! Melody! Laughter!
Oh magnificent world of bliss.
THE DUTCH UNCLE
Take these tales of mine
And in the pipe put and smoke
For wicked are the wiles of this world
Don’t be trapped by the bates of iniquity
Take thy eyes away
When beauty thy bosom enchant
For Solomon was wise
But a lot of women he got
And he got woes too
Think thou twice
When men to thee offer glittering cups
Of wine red and sweet
For they wait to see
The way it move thee
Stop! Speak thou not
When wicked men listen and laugh
Quickly! Cover thy ears
When they sing sweet songs in thy praise
For they wait on thee by fair and foul
To get their needs
Know ye that all gold glitters
But all are not gold that glitter
Take thy hand from cheap gold
For they tarnish in little while
Hard-got gold never tarnishes
Submit that thou might know
Yet be never known to submit
Be thou faithful when you love
Be thou fearless when you war
For all that you do you must do well.
NEVER SAY DIE
Like a dream it neighed and vanished
When sorrow and gloom backed him
Happiness seemed a fortune hard to come by
In solitude laid the palm fruit alone
As if reluctant to get ripe but nay
The harvest season came and went
He the worthiest was not worthy to be reaped
His labours wasted; nothing to show for them
Then came the season of fresh struggles
Not with running mates for they are all gone
But destiny denies not; it only directs
Then the season again; the determinant
Destiny came and the rough diamond polished
At last the patient dog got the fattest flesh.
THE JUDGE
Hail! Never forgotten shall you remain
Buried deep to flourish, never dying, minds must retain
Say; if within your comprehension his knowledge lies
Where lives he that for ages rules never to die
I’m contented but to teach men of his supremacy
To feed my spirit and more; seek his intimacy
He live, not a ghost, but eyes cannot not behold
Lest you the carnal forfeit and the earthly pleasures sold
Meek, devoid of pride shall his friends look
In his reward bag lays the records of deeds
He, the mightiest judge shall accordingly reward
Chastisement to prodigal children adequately awarded
Conquered finally shall the accuser be; condemned
There in the paradise of sin to roast unend.
LIFE’S LADDER
‘Better sorrow this morrow than tomorrow
Cos the land is soaked to plough and harrow
For the way up the ladder-top is narrow’
‘Your words wise one makes lighter
These loads to climb the ladder
I only seek to know more oh father’
‘Drone not to seek knowledge son’
‘How do I begin my journey under the sun?’
Your determination shall be your strength, son’
‘How do I get there faster than the sun-set?’
‘Watch your steps as you trek’
‘And how do I from the way not stray?’
‘From beauty keep your eyes away’
‘And how do I provide for the rainy day?’
‘While the sun shines make your hay’
‘How do I run with the hare
And the hounds not stair?’
‘Laugh not at those in tears
Give courage to those in fears
And you will not end in a mess!’
ECCE HOMO
Behold the man-God
Born of her who knew no man
Bred among them that know him not
And died that we might live
Suffering ruled his life
Sorrow was his company
A shepherd of the largest herd
Who had no where to lay his head
A terror of sinners
A champion of virtue
The mighty man of Judah
The mighty word of the almighty
He was gored to ourselves cure
He bled to ourselves make pure
He descended down to the dead secure
He ascended high to our mansions procure
Begotten not made
Without whom was nothing made
The lamb the prophet longed to see
Who was, who is, and is to come.
TESTAMENT OF SORROW
Hanging there beyond the clouds
Tormenting my days with thoughts
Hallucinations that are never real
Row please, row out of my world
If sorrow be the food you offer
And love the price you demand
I’ve eaten and I’m fed overfilled
Away please, let me paddle my own canoe
For the sky is lying low over me
With no sun to brighten my day
Yes! But a sun to scourge my feet
And a flood of a rain to take my shelter
Nights are hag-ridden and horrible
Filled with dreams of you alone
Smiling at me to mock my plight
Leave me alone to live my life
I wish you farewell and farewell please
Go to that land of no crocodile tears
Not with my heart and hand in yours
Your land is beyond, mine is here!
THE WORM-CANCERED WILDERNESS
No! There were no tears
Gullying the face and wetting the chest
Tracing contours widening day by day
Flowing with speed marvellous to behold
Never! There were no frowns
Patching faces like vexed statues
Wrinkling and chiselling the looks of men
Looking like despaired monsters
There were no wails of course
A familiar sound chattering the ear drum
Making hearts heavier than they are heavy
Dragging the morale of men lower than Hades
By Jove we never mourned
Throwing ashes on the body and looking white
Vainly hoping for the return of a departed one
Scared of facing the realities of reality
Peace! Oh fragile bodied peace!
Peace of no alternative but peace!
Peace! The valued only in broken peaces!
Peace! The departure of which rent hearts in pieces!
We had you then but valued you not
Sold you cheaply to selfish desires
As we desired that which desired you not
For all wanted in this little market of only wants
And no satisfaction;
Thus only the fittest survive but to fight on
As only the deeds of the mighty is just
As pandemonium and woe is celebrated
Survival has become struggle
Tears has become flood
Wails has become music
Mourning has become ceremony
Peace! Oh peace! When will you return?
Peace ho! This swinging ball is worm-cankered!
THE BOLD NAVIGATOR
The earth is yours
Possessor of the two edged sword
Piper of the two twin strains
Courageous beholder of the two faces of fate
Expecter of the fair and the foul
The world is yours to conquer
The bold navigator of two paths
