THOUGHT OF ESCAPE - POEM OF THE MONTH OCTOBER 2014
Starring at the moon glued to the sky
Like a bird he yearns to fly
Far among the clouds
Across the seas and above high mountains
Alas! He was but a prisoner in chains.
MUYIDEEN AYINLA
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We Believe!
Forged in
Frankenstein's lab,
painfully
stitched together
limb by limb
from different beings.
An edifice
of wonder
by the hands
of the Niger and the crown created,
a business
deal well struck.
Thus began
our century old journey
of back and
forth and back and forth.
our Nigeria,
oh! the hope and the terror.
(CHORUS BY
ALL) And we believed!
Our first
step was sure and steady
we grasped
our future like a hard earned trophy.
Oh that
bright day in October
Yes! Freedom
tasted better than the palm wine.
But alas! It
lasted only for a while.
Freedom
turned sour before we had our fill.
a coup, a
war and downhill we went
a dream
fading like thin fog.
Limb against
limb
each pulled
in different directions.
Our stitches
now far stretched,
held
together by the barest of threads.
A hundred
steps taken,
more like
drunken staggers in all directions.
Our limbs
beat our very eyes swollen and shut
yet we see
the rays beyond the horizon
(CHORUS BY
ALL) Still we believed!
In the
strength of our fragile bonds
and the
oneness of our humanity
for we know
that the battle is not to the strong
nah! The
battle belongs to the strong believer
who dares to
believe regardless
(CHORUS BY
ALL) Yes we believe!
In the
beauty of the scars we bear
and the
memories of our struggles and pains
for they are
medals of honour
and stuff of
legends
for a people
with a story
(CHORUS BY
ALL) Yes we believe!
In our
raging diversity
of tribes
and tongues and religion
true
testaments to the richness of our being
for even the
rainbow is made beautiful
by its
colourful diversity
(CHORUS BY
ALL) Yes we believe!
In the
labours of our heroes past,
the
struggles of our heroes present
and the
victory of our heroes to come
for we know
that ours is a triumph
slow to
come, but sure to come
(CHORUS BY
ALL) Yes we believe!
In one
Nigeria
united,
progressive and great
a towering
beacon of the black race
forged anew
with the vigour of love.
If you
believe, let me hear you say it loud!
(CHORUS BY
ALL) Yes I believe!
Forged in
Frankenstein's lab,
painfully
stitched together
limb by limb
from different beings.
An edifice
of wonder
by the hands
of the Niger and the crown created,
a business
deal well struck.
Thus began
our century old journey
of back and
forth and back and forth.
our Nigeria,
oh! the hope and the terror.
(MENTAL
CHORUS) And we believed!
Our first
step was sure and steady
we grasped
our future like a hard earned trophy.
Oh that
bright day in October
Yes! Freedom
tasted better than the palm wine.
But alas! It
lasted only for a while.
Freedom
turned sour before we had our fill.
a coup, a
war and downhill we went
a dream
fading like thin fog.
Limb against
limb
each pulled
in different directions.
Our stitches
now far stretched,
held
together by the barest of threads.
A hundred
steps taken,
more like
drunken staggers in all directions.
Our limbs
beat our very eyes swollen and shut
yet we see
the rays beyond the horizon
(MENTAL
CHORUS) Still we believed!
In the
strength of our fragile bonds
and the
oneness of our humanity
for we know
that the battle is not to the strong
nah! The
battle belongs to the strong believer
who dares to
believe regardless
(MENTAL
CHORUS) Yes we believe!
In the
beauty of the scars we bear
and the
memories of our struggles and pains
for they are
medals of honour
and stuff of
legends
for a people
with a story
(MENTAL
CHORUS) Yes we believe!
In our
raging diversity
of tribes
and tongues and religion
true
testaments to the richness of our being
for even the
rainbow is made beautiful
by its
colourful diversity
(MENTAL
CHORUS) Yes we believe!
In the
labours of our heroes past,
the
struggles of our heroes present
and the
victory of our heroes to come
for we know
that ours is a triumph
slow to
come, but sure to come
(MENTAL
CHORUS) Yes we believe!
In one
Nigeria
united,
progressive and great
a towering
beacon of the black race
forged anew
with the vigour of love.
If you
believe, let me hear you say it loud!
(MENTAL
CHORUS) Yes I believe!
TEMITOPE, Joseph Olanrewaju
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GRANDMA’S LETTER
Dear grandson,
I heard you’ve come-of-age
And have decided on a career
Path that soothe your heart;
So I write with a hope
That it’s not poetry.
You see john,
Your grandfather
Was a chimney sweeper,
So we traded soot
To give your father a white hair;
But when your father decided to be a poet,
My life closed twice,
My son, my executioner.
See son,
Poets will not make the kingdom of God,
Cos they do about everything the book says
There is to never be done;
‘Thou shall not make images’
Yet they meet at night
On moonlit heath
And part at morning
by lonesome bank.
Son,
They are a sect,
For they use symbols.
So Robert is always on the road not taken,
Always stopping by the woods
On nights with piercing frost;
Just to watch them fill up with snow.
And William is ever seeking
to cure the sick rose;
Jew awaiting the second coming,
but the clergy man’s horse bites him.
Your father
Who could never sew a stitch,
Spoke to the virgins to make much of time;
May God forgive e.e cummings,
Who writes his name in lower cases?
Son,
There’s no frigate as a book,
But I’ll rather you ride a Rose Royce phantom,
Got to bed in a Ferrari
And wake up in a Bugatti
If you wish;
But definitely not the coursers
Made from a page of prancing poetry,
We hail from the east,
You can judge the distance.
Dear grandson,
My sweet boy John;
I write to tell you to forget
Them that go to catch the falling star,
For Lucifer too is a starlight.
With love,
Grandma…
SOONEST
NATHANIEL
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CLUES
To begin with, I do not understand what pleasures a man
His feelings might lead him
Moments when dreams are worth just a pittance
Moments when it seems, he is now willing to last the
distance
Someone then went and invited him to a dance
If the sky is a canopy, what are the stars
If that canopy gets lifted, will we be scarred
A man’s charred remains going into the earth
There isn’t much difference from a fresh-bodied…body
So lay upon me your burdens
Let me lead you like Macaulay
You might get paid with my face on a note
On a sad note, you might be waylaid
Your pockets emptied at gun point
By robbers who earlier that evening finished a game of
ping pong
Knowing the night will be as loud as the day was silent
If there is no resort to violence
Let me take a step back
While saliva adds gloss to your lips
And you are found ready to leap
And jump into a known stranger’s defence, even when none
is seen in attack
Let me be the attachment to silence
Let my unspoken words become science
Till hearts become terrified of the quiet
A mouth had remained closed
Because the sound of it is a growl
And a man might into a dog grow
If the shiniest part of his soul
Does not find its space on earth to glow
I’m going home
Remember four if ever you thought I gave up
Life is like the game in fifteen
We might do the best, when it’s our turn to sing
But we’ll be alone, if to a dead song’s chorus, our tongue
clings
You might hate me for not sharing the saliva drooping from
your lips
But remember I’ve been stuck on one since the beginning
This man is only aware of his thoughts and the effects of
two
Don’t ask me why I can’t love you, even I don’t have a clue.
Akeem Adetayo Oyalowo
October 2, 2014
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MY DEAR
It isn’t out of place to need some mental space
To want everyone off your case and out of your face
Without being termed a nutcase
You see… it’s just a phase
It’s not out of place to want to be a social hermit
To wish everyone goes away to a different planet
To leave the world behind with a book and a blanket
Without being termed inconsiderate
It’s just another phase
Now everyone knows a party pooper is no fun
but sometimes we too wish we had a gun
For all that loud music and boisterous cheer
Makes even deaf men cover their ears
But all that’s just a phase
So if I decide to dye my hair green
Or put holes in my jeans
Or get married at fifteen
Or just smash your windscreen
Try not to scream or be mean
It’s just another freaking phase
So for now I love to dance, sing and write
I’m practically the queen of the spotlight
A sunny delight
I excite and ignite
But with the right amount of foresight
You’ll know…. it’s just a phase.
ERHIO OBODO
OCTOBER
2014
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With mouth opened
I gaped towards the south
Where she sat in wait
Holding all down by the allures of her
heavenly body
Was it Alora, Monique or Mercedes, that chic
from South Carolina?
She looks more like Monique,
I remember seeing her that full
The last time in South Africa
Yet,
Something tells me there was more to this
That saying
“Not all that glitters are gold”
Rang in my head
As I beheld the magnificence of her beauty
Sweeping me off all senses
That saying is a collector’s lie I think
Lies or no lies
Time will tell
My will to know will take me there
Ten steps closer and my mind begins to waiver
I’m struck with the fever of what the
pleasure within will be
From without
Yes, I can tell
But, hell
What lies within I can only imagine
I have not the slightest idea
Can I get a hike?
As if that was the very word for hi
A smile greeted me
As I gritted my teeth at the idea of no word
spoken
My feet kept moving
Inching to get a feel
Do you mind if I touch you?
More of a thought until my guts filled up and
I could mutter the words
Still she chose the route to no words
Silence must mean consent going by the alluring
smile on her face
I assured myself
Wide smiles, big bright eyeballs could only
be consent
My blood is pumping
Adrenaline is running
My balls are sweating
Yea!
So much taking place within me
So much torque
In anticipation of what lies within
I made it to the touch
Yes the touch with out ensnared me the more
Urging me to keep on
Behind her lies a holy mound
So round a monk will flinch
The gazes around are enough
To encourage you to go on a grazing trip
Yet, all she offers is a smile
Very inviting one at that
I must be reading ninety by one forty-three
of mercury by now
She winks me in
And whip myself on like I couldn’t be wrong
Damn if I am wrong
I can deal with the consequences
My heart sinks in
Taking solace from my fears in her bosom
I follow her instructions based on my
interpretations of her winks
Like there’s a chip located somewhere within
my being
Thoughts of her not being dumb rents my head
As wonder what games she has up her head
Only a lioness winks in this manner
She must roar like one I thought
In I go, gently pressing my thumb on her
right button
She whines
Coming gradually alive
My thought stuck on going full throttle
I must win her for life
Lion or lioness
I pressed a little further pushing my right
feet ahead
She roars as she adjusts herself
To take me head on
It was not a fake roar
As the entire neighbourhood felt the fusion
Of our union
7 days after my account is empty
In payment for her dowry
ILUPEJU 2014
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EGO CONSCIOUSNESS
The stillness
within
Brought with
it millennia of memories,
Like Abiku
It replayed
Memories of
all that I am
What I was
What I am
now
What I dream
to be
The reality
of how far
I am from
real life
And how
close to death
Dawns on me
with every moment
The ship is
on fire and sinking
In the
middle of the Dead Sea
That spiral
through the black hole
Will I
escape?
I hear the
thunder clap ever louder
As the
lightening rents asunder
The dark
clouds,
A breath of
fresh air
My ego
consciousness weeps
For all that
I am
After the
breath of fresh air
Is slowly
falling
Is slowly
Is
Lukewarm
Cold
IFEANYI OKWOSHA OCTOBER 2014
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O ANDREW OF
SUFFICIENCY
Firstly, it bores my mind to
repent
Secondly, it costs my heart to
obey
Freedom to respect the integrity
and dignity
As in the days of Martin Lurther
King Jr.
With the sacrifice of
humanitization
Far from political ambition
Stressing the suffering of the
masses
Like giving them the means of
livelihood
Collecting their power to
represent them
As in the time of George
Washington
With their vote of confidence
Bar wonders in the comfort of
leaders
Lifting the constitution to
perform
Like the terms of service in
office
Promising the nation from laxity
or want
O ANDREW OF SUFFICIENCY
Comely it looks like a clue
Versely, it swallows our speech
Freedom from the bondage of death
As in the days of Julius Caesar
With the splitting of the arrow
head
Far from beyonder’s village
Stealing the wife of Oculus
Like the gladiator spears of war
Savaging the poor to fight for
fear
As in the dens of onlookers
With the Spartan of warriors
Bar reigns in the king’s throne
Leaving the brave to survive
Like the stream of haemoglobin
Rescuing the warriors from the
enemies
So says Andrew of sufficiency
UBONG ABASI
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DEAR
Dear,
I am not ready to leave you
I am just getting to know you
I met you first as a little one
Didn't know much
Except your name
How to spell it and not what you
Represent
I am not ready to leave you
I am just getting to know you
Then we started to relate
Even though I do not know till date
When your presence
Began to mean more to me
Than a name
I am not ready to leave you
I am just getting to know you
You billowed around me
Filled up my senses
Got me to need you
And introduce you
I am not ready to leave you
I am just getting to know you
It's been fourteen years now
And you are still a mystery
You intrigue
Me
Yet frustrate me
I am not ready to leave you
I am just getting to know you
I wish to leave you
Better than I met you
I wish to make you
The one they bow to
I am not ready to leave you
I am just getting to know you
Do not cower in silence
Let your voice be heard
Your presence be felt
Do reign dear law
I am not ready to leave you law
I cannot know all of you!
KEMIBON
I am not ready to leave you
I am just getting to know you
I met you first as a little one
Didn't know much
Except your name
How to spell it and not what you
Represent
I am not ready to leave you
I am just getting to know you
Then we started to relate
Even though I do not know till date
When your presence
Began to mean more to me
Than a name
I am not ready to leave you
I am just getting to know you
You billowed around me
Filled up my senses
Got me to need you
And introduce you
I am not ready to leave you
I am just getting to know you
It's been fourteen years now
And you are still a mystery
You intrigue
Me
Yet frustrate me
I am not ready to leave you
I am just getting to know you
I wish to leave you
Better than I met you
I wish to make you
The one they bow to
I am not ready to leave you
I am just getting to know you
Do not cower in silence
Let your voice be heard
Your presence be felt
Do reign dear law
I am not ready to leave you law
I cannot know all of you!
KEMIBON
