SEE HOW THEY COME
See how they come
With
opinions way taller than their kwashiorkored IQ’s
Knowing the
price of everything
While value
eludes the phantom medulla, nothing
There, yet
spilling it everywhere
Overflow of
zero
Outpouring
of nil
Emphasizing
zilch
With so much
panache
Elegantly
passing on
Nauseating
legacies
See, can’t
you see?
How they
come.
They come in
a convoy
Convoluting
simplicity
Questioning
clear marks
Too full of
themselves to stop
Deliberately
poking at sense
Common!!! They say: Sense doesn’t make sense
Why should
it produce after its kind?
Let’s rip
off the S from sense
Lets put in
a F, so we build a Fence to fence you out
F for F***
the rules
F for we are
too fussy to reason with sense
Common!!!
Sense. We don’t want you here!!
We don’t
make you here!!!
We only make
placards with no sense
We look for
anything Sense-less and stand for it!!!!
We fight for
it
We Get
touchy about it….
Hear them,
see them… how they come
They come
wearing their groundless pride
Like a coat
A coat of
many colors, you see
Matching it
with glasses; rose colored
Tainted with
all shades of obscure desires
Opaque,
impairing clear view …
Yet they
gracefully grope in that view
Sophisticatedly
fumble in that view
In fact they
crown it king
“Hallowed!!! be this messed up view!”
They come, from every corner they come
Recruiting the gullible
Enlisting naiveté
Soliciting foolishness
Courting irrationality
Sightless yet leading
To a place
They have no clue about…
Oyindamola Fakile
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NEED.
I’ve felt the power of the abductor
And the ransom’s weight,
Dragging down my purse
Heavy still, when I opted for
cashless grief.
Order me some tears
Give me an invoice on quality grief
From a page in the diary of the
abducted
For I cannot afford an ounce of
sympathy
Step me into your shoe
For power proves me a strong
anti-pain
Even against your agony
Winning is a need,
A need greater than your misery
Its walls are shock proof
Cocooning me in trauma-less comfort
Until your thumb stings my ticket
of need
Then, my grief will openly pour
no longer the need for you
To order me some tears
OYE LOLADE
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Forgive Me a Flaw
Pass me the cup
Leave for me its contents
Hand it over with a smile
I can still see you, flesh and soul, absent of pride
Staring at the stars all night long
Hasn’t made them to offer words
I am down here sprawled
I could scribble, draw or scrawl
What I need said to me
Seems to have been said before I came
I met them written
I met men seething
My kith and kin in stripes
Coats of different colors and to me that’s fine
Pass me the cup
Right after you gulped
And witnessed you belched
My intoxication begins after you start
Yours begin right after you fart
That thing is a whistle with a smell
Both sides of the ring, threaten your goodness with hell
My pictures are sown not taken
Perceptions are seeds and we become its seedlings
Haul your words don’t hoard them
Most of the time, it doesn’t, but silence should hurt men
Forgive me a flaw
These your unwritten laws
Don’t tell me who not to love
Don’t force me into confessions or affections
Pass the cup no more
Not one more gulp
That leads into lifetime leaning and yearning
I’ll read by myself and lead my learning
Forgive my flaw or banish me into hell
And I might just hear you ended there…
Akeem Adetayo Oyalowo
March 8, 2013
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I’M CRANKY
I need room
I need more space to bloom
Surrounded by so much gloom and doom
I need to escape this constricting womb
I need to inhale fresh fumes of happiness
To turn up the volume of my boldness
To assume my cloak of righteousness
To turn this vacuum called hopelessness
Into a storeroom of greatness and lushness
I need space
Away from this weird race
Who have nothing good to showcase
But auction disgrace in the marketplace
I need to feel the joy of living in my nest
To move freely without ever feeling like a guest
Or ever becoming someone else’s conquest
I need to feel blessed not oppressed
Caressed not molested or suppressed
I need liberty
I need to have my own dynasty
Free from tragedy
Free from treachery
I need room
I need space
I need some new perfume
and the latest Swiss lace.
Erhio
September 2014
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NOWHERE
>
> I say its a curse,
> to never see her graduate,
> to never walk her down the aisle;
> you tell me the war will never be over,
> till we see the need to hear
> silence;
> your courage is my fear,
> so i listen now to statues.
> I ask,
> does losing my grip mean letting go.
>
> I should have danced
> with her,
> why didn't I dance
> with her;
> she could hear the playing guitar,
> now i hear it too from afar,
> the sweet melody of the softly fiddled
viola.
> I seek to pluck of Apolo's harp,
> but you say i'll play a cord of mishap.
> so i ask,
> is discord not a unifying principle.
>
> O! Sugar,
> in losing you, i've found need for myself
> to hate for love's sake,
> love for enemies
> who long me see another sun's wake;
> still, wake for friends
> who long eat of my death-day cake.
> Tell me sweet
> even now,
> how being right is a mistake.
>
> O! Sugar,
> in losing you i've found my need for God;
> theirs, who honours above his name his
word.
> I've asked some questions,
> but he doesn't promise an explanation,
> he only leaves me a hard choice;
> either to be angry for the time i won't
have you,
> or be grateful for the times i did.
> Tell me sweet
> even now,
> when is it right for the man left behind to
lead.
>
> I don't want to be angry,
> I just want to heal,
> to feel again the warmth of a daughter
> on the skin of a freezing father;
> in my heart a kindled ember,
> in my spirit a raging fire
> and in my soul a burning desire.
> O! Earthened pot,
> where is your cold water,
> why is heaven so hot.
>
> Sugar,
> now i see the need
> to run those five miles,
> so i've gotten myself a new pair
> of running shoes;
> they say we are all running nowhere,
> but i tell them sweet
> even now
> i tell them
> that 'nowhere' is the new direction.
SOONEST NATHANIEL
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E BO E’LEBO
Brown
calabash with white eggs neatly juxtaposed,
My gaze fell
upon the neatly scattered notes
And the
white eko* creamed or creased with palm-oil,
Broken kola
nuts and some faced-out coin
All waiting
sheepishly to appease the acclaimed gods.
There by the
footpath on the highway
It was
placed where all could cast a lustful eye
And salivate
at such huge feast placed before the invisible
While we the
visible scurry through the day on empty stomach
But must
their gods feed on the highway
And pride
itself in this modern day of being fetish
And not in
some place among chirping birds
And in a
jungle where three footpath leads to the unknown
Or in the
thickest of forest filled with beasts and bats.
Just three
snaps of the finger above the head
And three
spits of saliva to the earth
And some
childish incantations we learnt as kids;
Ebo e lebo
pada l’eyin mi, ebo e lebo pada l’eyin mi
Ti o ba pada
l’eyin mi, ma da omi gbona si e lara,
Ti o ba pada
l’eyin mi ma da omi tutu si e lara …
Eni ti o ba
di eru ni ki o fi ori ara e gbe.
But the gods
don’t come to eat their meals
They must
have turned to flies hovering around the stench
While the
notes must have been stolen by some miscreants
The
fortunate gods in their own unfortunate ways.
More
calabashes of varied sizes
Wrapped with
white apparels and adorned with sea shells
And great
recipe to cast great spells
Kola nuts,
palm oil, bird feathers, boiled eggs,
White and
red clothes, sea shells, dark powders all fit for the cauldron
Ebo e lebo
pada l’eyin mi, ebo e lebo pada l’eyin mi
Ti o ba pada
l’eyin mi, ma da omi gbona si e lara,
Ti o ba pada
l’eyin mi ma da omi tutu si e lara …
Eni ti o ba
di eru ni ki o fi ori ara e gbe.
It is a
common sight these days
Turn left or
right there would be one in a conspicuous corner
Or by the
pavement just like the one by Obalende bridge
Waiting for
alighting commuters to have a smell of its stench
And have a
glimpse of dark concoctions that lay within
Ebo e lebo
pada l’eyin mi, ebo e lebo pada l’eyin mi
Ti o ba pada
l’eyin mi, ma da omi gbona si e lara,
Ti o ba pada
l’eyin mi ma da omi tutu si e lara …
Eni ti o ba
di eru ni ki o fi ori ara e gbe.
No doubt
evil lurks in the dark
And it is
not strange to see their marks at daylight
Along the
streets and on our highways,
Even though
the world is changing,
But this old
fetish custom still has its place among men.
I believe
those spirits
Should be
tired of wraps of eko and palm oil
Now that
foreign dishes grace our tables
Since they
can’t talk,
How would
you know if they crave
For salad
and sausage
Or burger
and burritos?
MUYIDEEN AYINLA
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NO TIME
The pressure
is on
So I have to
get my cupid on
Wake him
from his lazy sleep
Arm him with
his famous bow
And hope for
sure this time around
He gets me
my prize for sure
I guess this
is not the time for ummmm
Been there
done that but . . . ummmmm
I guess I
have not done this
Let my ego
fold like the tail of a coward dog
Barge
through my fears like a wild hog
Look at me
now as I bow to this pressure
The kind of
pressure diamonds are made from
Stronger
than a pythons pressure for sure
This
pressure that leaves me assured
That this
time around I’m won
Try hard to
be the one that wins
The heart of
the one that wears
That fabled
golden crown
That legends
are forged from
That great
women are crowned with
That
humility is grown from
And pray to
God that the rib I find
Is the one
from my side is taken from
CHISOM
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SPIRIT AND INTELLECT
Why don't I
want to dig me up?
I was buried
deep within,
Smothering
and gasping for light
My servant
now enthroned as my master
Showing me
the way like a blind man
For without
me he is dead
Yes dead
without life
I give him
life
Yet I allow
him whom I gave life
The dead one
to lead me
Where else
will he lead?
He without
life,
Cannot give
life
To death
will he lead
I need to
dig me up
And lead my
ship
My servant,
thanks but no thanks
I allowed
you bury me
All the dead
is awake to live its self out
You too
You that is
dead
Will take
your place
I gave you
life
I need to
dig me up
I the
captain of my ship
Once more to
lead my crew
Towards life
IFEANYI OKWOSHA September 2014
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PEOPLE
The whole of
Creation was founded on the premise of LOVE
And Isolation is a
notion absurd
Cause, People need
People
People die without
People
People gain from
other People
People loose to
other People
People hurt for no
reason
cause their People
couldn't LOVE
As they too have
been hurt
And they no longer
know LOVE
People kill People
Feel guilt and Kill
themselves
Cause you only
treat People
As well as you
treat yourself
People Die
People Live
People, Joy
People Grief
Everything
happening is cause of some People's deed
We are all
connected, People
Cannot Do without
People
We were made to
relate
And isolation kills
People
Never go to battle
all alone
Without your own
People
God never wanted
man alone folks
YOU NEED PEOPLE!
Adesola fakile
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NEED
So much
pressure
Amidst all
these pleasure
Life’s line
can be hard to tow
Silently we
wallow in the pains of our supposed leisure
Playing away
time
And lying
senselessly
Most of the
time
The lust for
pleasure
Keeping us
always coming back
And we
forget all that we lack
The other
night I was all alone
Typing away
on my phone
Truth be
told
I was not
aware of what I was doing
But it
turned out really useful
Life’s major
issues became the center point
Pointing me
in all directions
First it was
me pallying all sorts of characters
And marrying
all tribes in the name of National eminence
Things may
seem to be working my way right now
But from my
note from last night
I am not
sure it is always going to be a bed of roses
Yet
My need for
relevance
Remains my
reason for always running round
The need for
self-aggrandizement
The need to
remain in the scheme of things
This same
need to keep sucking on the honey
Is always
the reason for the fly’s journey to an early grave
Ilupeju
9/11/14
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THE END
That was the
phrase
That played
in her mind’s eye
When she was
served
The
beginning of the end
Was never
anticipated when
She got
served the forever plate
In the
middle of that June day when
Blood and
water
Spilled from
beneath her and
Life
spluttered for-ward
She was not
a seer
And even if
she could
See
She
couldn’t’ have
Seen
The look
given
When the
cries
Rent the air
And the
silent sighs too
Gave away
the disappointment of yet
Another
appointment
It was the
need to satisfy tradition
That drove
the wheels now
She was soon
to find that the
Metal that
binds never contemplates
The strong
bond of familial ties
And the
heart that pleads forgets
The seeds of
promises sown
Yes, the end
came within that
Moment and
there was
No stronger
feeling
No greater
need
Than to call
her
Mother
Kemi bon
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GIVE ME A PEN.
Give me a Pen and a piece of Paper,
here at the banks of the Niger River;
and I shall re-write the history of all the
earth,
And give Eden a desired rebirth.
Give me a Pen and a piece of Paper,
for I am pregnant and soon to deliver;
the message of the messiahs plan to redeem the
entire planet
and seal up the abyss of death.
Give me a Pen and a piece of Paper,
that I might quicken verbs dead at this hour;
to wrought wonders with the alphabets
and heal the deadly sores of all the earth.
All I need is a Pen and a Piece of paper,
to pour out my heart that does now bleed;
as I shed this creed
like a starved lover, severely hungered,
needing affection, his soul to feed.
.... INCREASE NATHANIEL
