DOUBT!
Just between the pronouncement of a prayer and its adjoining amen,
the devil winked and heaven disappeared
Just between conception and the birth of a man,
a coin dropped and we have the head of a monster faced up
Before harvest, after the crop is sown,
a thought dropped in the mind of a swarm of locust to make a leveled
field.
A dog is a dog is a wolf.
I have not seen any two things so close
with an unfathomable intimacy as Creation and Destruction
… each having the gene of the other.
They are the case of an egg and a hen.
Which came first and when?
Who would have thought a sleeping chromosome at the time of rapture
will make a difference as wide as the ocean breadth.
“It’s a boy!” And “that’s just a girl….”
Maybe we are not alone.
Maybe the mind is just an incubator; a womb to birth what is to come.
Maybe this time is just a gestation period…
Maybe we’re not the aim— the target, maybe we’re just the means.
Maybe Time is just a spatula with which we feed on the tasteless meal
called Hope.
DARE DAN
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MASK
We are all going to die.
Somewhere in between birth and
Living we are confronted with this
Un doubtable truth
The double mystery is when and how?
If we were permitted to sit with a seer
And have our life path spelt out to us
Would we be free of doubts?
Would we be left with no uncertainty?
I doubt
Cause black and white does not suffice
To paint life
It’s never as easy as
Right or wrong
I say Baba
Will you erase some of the inequality?
Will justice reign?
With mercurial men in power
My thoughts perambulate
But my feelings are quiescent
In the labyrinth of creation
Doubt is a constant
Like change it remains
Regardless of the ebb and flow
Man whatever you do
When in doubt
Do not give your strength to woman
No, I take that back
Whether in doubt or not
Keep your strength
Woman has it all
Her strength will keep doubts at bay
And ain’t that the balance we seek.
KEMIBON
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MY OWN PERSONAL DOUBT
DEM.
Me i get doubts
Plenty plenty doubts o.
My nickname na doubting thomas.
E reach one stage for the doubting game.
I begin doubt my own doubts.
This art life na my hustle
The only thing wen i sabi do
but i doubt say e go fit put food for my table
or even fit buy that hollandis wrapper wey Mama want
I doubt say my life fit better with this my hustle
I swear I doubt.
When I turn eleven
Papa pack up im bag leave Mama
Im leave Mama heartbroken waka follow anoda woman.
I doubt say im go fit remeber my face or even know how big wey i don grow.
I doubt say me sef go fit remember im face
cos everytime i think of papa,i dey think of am for black and
white.Omehn e don too tey.
Mama don go through hell for im absence.
And i doubt say I go ever make anywoman go through the same.
My Mama na my pride,my jewel,my joy
My Mama na my all in all.
She don teach me say to be man no be only sake of say you be male.
Abi because you get carrot wey dey dangle for the middle of your yam legs.
No! she say to be man,na to dey responsible
na to dey original,na to dey strong
Na to tanda gidigba look out for your family.
My Mama say if i dey find Korrect man
make i no find am go far.
My Mama say she be man korrect man.
I swear,that one me i no doubt.
But i doubt say i go fit be man enuf
Wen my own turn reach
Man enuf for my lady
Man ebuf for my unborn seeds dem
Man enuf like my Mama
I doubt.
Me i get doubts
Plenty plenty doubts o.
My nickname na doubting thomas.
E reach one stage for the doubting game.
I begin doubt my own doubts.
This art life na my hustle
The only thing wen i sabi do
but i doubt say e go fit put food for my table
or even fit buy that hollandis wrapper wey Mama want
I doubt say my life fit better with this my hustle
I swear I doubt.
When I turn eleven
Papa pack up im bag leave Mama
Im leave Mama heartbroken waka follow anoda woman.
I doubt say im go fit remeber my face or even know how big wey i don grow.
I doubt say me sef go fit remember im face
cos everytime i think of papa,i dey think of am for black and
white.Omehn e don too tey.
Mama don go through hell for im absence.
And i doubt say I go ever make anywoman go through the same.
My Mama na my pride,my jewel,my joy
My Mama na my all in all.
She don teach me say to be man no be only sake of say you be male.
Abi because you get carrot wey dey dangle for the middle of your yam legs.
No! she say to be man,na to dey responsible
na to dey original,na to dey strong
Na to tanda gidigba look out for your family.
My Mama say if i dey find Korrect man
make i no find am go far.
My Mama say she be man korrect man.
I swear,that one me i no doubt.
But i doubt say i go fit be man enuf
Wen my own turn reach
Man enuf for my lady
Man ebuf for my unborn seeds dem
Man enuf like my Mama
I doubt.
UGOCHUKWU EMEBIRIODO
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QUE SERA
Niagra falls is threatening
despite its beauty
Tom and Jerry's theme of nature has become violent
Joy haunts in memories
Great storytellers claim
Humans are copycats
I am one
Children do not need
Memoirs of pain
They love on play
Education feeds it beast
Beauty is best
Rocks cry
Love wastes time
No guarantee of progress
We have voted
As were asked
Computer geeks are never boring
Especially those in love with the art
Power and greed
have no creativity as one
Lilies will be lilies
Frogs will be frogs
Que sera is the word
What will, will.
OLUWEMIMO BONUOLA
*APRIL 2015
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BURNING MY BOAT
They said Bonaparte
once ordered his men
To burn their boats
and embrace the melody of war
Of anguish or victory
resonating by the door
In their quest to
conquer for themselves spoils of war.
I have decided to burn
mine
Leave the crucibles to
sink beneath the sea
Watch its hull go in flames
And plunge legs first
in this sea of strife
With no bayonets or
swords but a pen as a knife
For to get ashore is a
matter of life.
I can hear the clash
of words
And see letters being
unsheathed
From scabbards of
years of learning.
I know comrades rise
and fall
From summer to winter
fall
And epithaps rise to
the call of death.
Do not write me one
Even when the deed is
done.
Remember some met
their waterloo
For I have come to
take of my toil
If it requires me
waving my pen
Dipping it deep in the
inks of my foes
For I have burnt my
boats
And its ashes have
made a bed of the sea.
Do not ask me why it
took this long
To echoe this war song
For I have been
chanting in the distance
Long before they
buried my mother tongue.
Where the war is tense
you shall find me
For I have taken along
with me the flag of peace
Ready to be hoisted
before the first shot
I have aimed not to
turn my back
Without spoils from my
exploit
And if providence do
make me tarry
I will be glad to die
fighting on.
(C)
AYINLA MUYIDEEN ADELEKE 2015
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I LAUGH
Letter from a now free thinking friend.
Dude,
I have contracted Thomas’ disease,
And the pharmacy store is run out
Of Abraham’s drug,
Thus, a Sarah now within I laugh.
I laugh
For its not me in the mirror
When i stare after midnight,
Nor glance in the still waters at dawn.
I laugh
For its not my seed
Germinating in the nursery of her womb,
The report says that my O Michal is barren.
I laugh
For the naira
Shall never equal the dollar,
Even if our shame is traded in the open market.
I laugh
For i’ll never walk on water,
Nor tread bare earth over the Jordan river.
Save for when flip-flops suffice as speed boats.
I laugh
For you will never be published,
Who wants to read
Success stories told by a failure?
I laugh
For the sun will never shine at midnight,
Your papa lied to us,
Or perhaps God too play’s April fool.
I laugh
For we all can’t drown
As says the crown,
Why do we clothe fools with regal gowns?
I laugh
For the hole in those palms are sealed.
No scars, the wounds are completely healed.
I fear my loss is too much a prize for the cross.
I laugh
For sin multiplies because of grace,
And the world will never be a better place
So your holy bible says.
I laugh
For i am an optimist
With all the negative facts,
I dream only of realities.
I laugh
For all I have is the sickle of doubt,
How then do i reap the grape clausters
In the vine of faith?
SOONEST NATHANIEL
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DOUBT (poem of the
month)
its a constant knock on the mind.
A brush against the senses
It lingers and lingers until it explodes,
Its a turbulent sea that plunges you onto an abyss of bright colours
and dark corners.
It ploughs through your consciousness and lodges in your heart.
Its a thief, it robs You of moments of elation, confusing and concealing.
Its an anchor, subjecting you to the whims of the tide.
Yes. It maims,
Kills,
Steals
Complicates simplicity
Makes a coward of the brave.
Still.
It saves, makes u take a second look
It gives, gives the opportunity to tk a new turn.
Doubt is a force for choice.
Its a second chance
Even as it torments
It frees.
A brush against the senses
It lingers and lingers until it explodes,
Its a turbulent sea that plunges you onto an abyss of bright colours
and dark corners.
It ploughs through your consciousness and lodges in your heart.
Its a thief, it robs You of moments of elation, confusing and concealing.
Its an anchor, subjecting you to the whims of the tide.
Yes. It maims,
Kills,
Steals
Complicates simplicity
Makes a coward of the brave.
Still.
It saves, makes u take a second look
It gives, gives the opportunity to tk a new turn.
Doubt is a force for choice.
Its a second chance
Even as it torments
It frees.
ABIMBOLA ABAYOMI
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WITHOUT A DOUBT
The wisdom of my ignorance
Let me ignore true wisdom
Doubting all that is true
Glorifying self-righteousness and cleverness
My dream of a world without responsibility
Without a doubt should be without freewill
Freedom to choose
To die or live
I make within every moment in time
Time without a doubt is immovable
As I journey within time
Leaving imprints
Printed on my soul
Read by other souls without a doubt
As I meet my debtors and the ones I owe
I am eternally thankful without a shadow of doubt
That I am the architect of my fate
The captain of my ship
To steer where I desire
Without a doubt
IFEANYI OKWOSHA APRIL 2015
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BEYOND ALL REASONABLE
DOUBT
There must be a reason why the ostrich can’t fly
Why the plural of syllabus is syllabi
Why certain words or phrases
can be misleading
To the point of some being downright deceiving
‘We rule the literary world’ the Englishman boasts
But if it is not French why call it French toast
If Arabic numerals originated in India what’s the plan?
And if a Panda bear is not a bear then please rescue man
For his ability to give names is questionable you see
To find out a Horned toad is a lizard definitely beats me
It’s no different on African Shores
For here, words tend to mean much more
Pepper
Not just a spice but the cash at hand
Levels
What you have or can achieve not the height of the land
February
Is not just a month but whether that item is complete
And if a place is becoming rowdy and you can’t stand the heat
My friend just ‘delete’
So the next time someone offers you ‘Cullen skink’
Just know it’ll turn out tastier than you may think
But if you hear an Urhobo man shout ‘ Epa!’ look around
Be rest assured you’ll find no snacks on ground
By the way have you ever heard of the ‘invisible rail’?
Well that’s just another Asian tale.
I have my doubts and you have yours
That shouldn’t mean men should become herbivores
ERHIO APRIL 2015
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LAZY DOG
My days are lazy
like an over-fed dog
One second dissolves into another
then it's 7:00 pm and another day's over
My nights are hot
not because there's extra heat
under my bed sheets,
but because my ceiling fan
is faulty and needs fixing.
I keep tossing and turning
waking up with a start, sweating
I dream of caterpillars
and all my valuable stuff
they have eaten.
In my sub-conscious I win
battle I have never fought,
but when I'm conscious again
after the nap I am chained to this reality
like an over-hyped criminal;
like a masochist I long for escape
from this nightmare of monotony;
Freedom from this emotional slavery.
I need to run away
to a place far far away,
a place where only the wind knows my name
Where no one else knows from where I came.
I still believe in miracles
in living precariously
and overcoming daily obstacles
like hunger and feeding my bad habits
Except that I haven't really been living.
Everyday is a mental rehearsal
of the life I'd rather be living,
balls I'll be attending and parties
I'll be throwing and speeches I'll be giving.
Because in the end it's never about
wealth and fame, position or power,
but about the impact we have made
in the lives of others
every lazy second and every boring hour.
An N. Amos
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NO LOVE
There is no love bro there is no love I tell you
There is . . . broken pieces of promises littered
There is hate brewing like cats litter
There is no love my sis there is no love I tell you
There are brothers killing brothers because of paper
Tell you they will be kind later
There is no love people there is no love I tell you
There are people killing people for tribe
Others killing others for bribe
There is no love I tell you there is no love
There is nerve racking evil everywhere
There is . . . no love anywhere
There is no love my little ones there is no love I tell you
There are tales to be taken with a pinch of salt . . . and pepper
There is no action only words on paper
There is no love my friends there is no love I tell you
We thought love is the foundation . . . no!
It is the decency of lies and pretense that tear secrets now
There is no love my brethren there is no love I tell you
There is only peace made of fake smiles
There is only doubts for many miles
CHISOM
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