FOR THE ONES WHO NEVER RETURNED - (Poem of the Month)
I.
Some see things, yet they are no prophets,
hear things their peers never could.
Sometimes, they perceive their foes'
plots without their nose(s)
and
sing songs
other tongues
couldn't fathom,
but now their hearts feel things
that their skins never could.
II.
And by the quills
that kill.
They have slaughtered more with their words
than they ever had with their swords
and
many lives were lost to their puns,
none to their guns.
Sapiens awe at yarns
they spin
to the ugly and the beautiful.
III.
And by the quills
that kill.
Their pens
serve as dens
and
havens they visit
to remind themselves of their vanishment
and banishment
from the minds of wo-mankind.
They are the ones who never returned.
Olaitan Humble
/////////////////////////////////////////////
Wax and Wane
There, He cried.
A little child,
snatched away.
Dwindled from the
bosom of his mother.
Ready to strive,
Ready to work.
He never let 'no
one see but the joy'
An extrovert,
Yet!
so introverted to
himself .
Many, have come and
gone.
Words, waxed and
waned.
Promises, made and broken.
He searches for
happiness in the dark,
His enthusiasm for
the course is waning
But He will
continue,
Cos as these wise
men once said
Life goes On,
And there might
just be,
A light at the end
of the tunnel.
AMAMI JOSEPH
///////////////////////////////
A CHANGE AFTER MY HEART
When my mother was twenty_four,
the absent parliament were melodies of abstract entities,
it was the ark for the war,
not as the law in heirarchical cothurnus,
the skeletons of social justice didn't peep
at any Emir's agbada ocha.
How old are you?
Oh Mr. Khakii !
When my mother had the Unity of command,
when all naked heads bowed to Henry Fayol's principles,
I will not tell of their non_dramatic decrees,
no exordium, having all the dialects apart,
million states had their gratified territories.
How old are you ?
I think the heaven got mad last night,
looking at the surreal of sinking legs,
I will not speak of Tadishar,
a valley love watches my straight legs at dawns,
and I failed to turn back on the soaked nested Obadore leaves...
' Ah my leg ! '
' Are you all right ? '
The main lesson is to sit up, don't just write,
speak until she discovers her weeping age.
AJAKAYE RASHIDAT OLAMIDAYO.
//////////////////////////////////////
FADED LILY
The beautiful
lily fades at noon...
Petrified,
we call out your name
and a silent echo return,
our eyes bud tears,
too heavy for the soul,
too heavy for your lost,
too daunting for the heart to bear.
Wake up
or wake us
from this dream,
this long night at dawn
alas, a cold morning
to our grieving hearts.
Hold on
to the Sun
should it shine
at the other side,
for we seize consolation
with the memory of your
sun shines in our hearts.
You are,
a taste of salt
that ceases not
in our mouth.
The beautiful lilies
of our morning.
The moon
will glow again,
and we shall embrace again
at the break of dawn.
-Amami H.
////////////////////////////////////
I belong in the kitchen
Why not? I am a pastry chef
I’m all over the place
Why not ? I am an event planner
I belong to your family
Why not? A mother of dreams
I am the breast weaned
Why not ? I am the breadfruit
I ‘m dramatic
Why not ? I am an actor
I ‘m a fashionista
Why not ? I am a cat woman
I ‘m very attractive
Why not? I ‘m a beautiful damsel
I’m part of your culture
Why not? I am your mother tongue
I’m part of your heritage
Why not ? I am your princess
I ‘m the mother of the earth
Why not ? I am mother nature
I ‘m too emotional
Why not ? I ‘m a teacher
I ‘m too industrious
Why not ? I am a professional
I ‘m a homemaker
Why not ? I’m an interior decorator
UBONG
ABASI
///////////////////////////////////////
AN ERRAND SOUL
here a giant’s on the wane
lachrymation, lamentation all my bane
the roses of love is pain
and the thorns are gain.
from the womb of the dust
i grovel down the tomb of dusk
as a prowling errand soul
in search of his heart’s sole.
the night is my day
and all day long i lay
lowly. lonely. dejected
for want of a mate rejected.
should a wish become a reality
we shall live immortality
for true love doesn’t die
nor a beating heart does lie
i sit in the belly of the sun
and cast hope as a primus son
that someday i will acquire
the mate i so much desire.
Ikechukwu Ogbu
//////////////////////////////////////////
AS THE MOONLIGHT WANES
Eye in the sky, how do you perceive me?
Like the devious trail of the wind at midnight
That flutters aimlessly with no defined course?
Like a pendulum that meddles in the rights and lefts
With shallow measure of intensity and then
Settles in the effortless space of no profundity?
I have scooped too much from the plate of anxiety
Tasting out my abhorrence against my desperation
That my thick coated faith is scraped and gradually
White-washed to a stricken imitation of a child of light.
Like the devious trail of the wind at midnight
That flutters aimlessly with no defined course?
Like a pendulum that meddles in the rights and lefts
With shallow measure of intensity and then
Settles in the effortless space of no profundity?
I have scooped too much from the plate of anxiety
Tasting out my abhorrence against my desperation
That my thick coated faith is scraped and gradually
White-washed to a stricken imitation of a child of light.
On this entrapping miry ground that swallows
My vigor and beats my heart to brokenness
Lend me a hand to stand Oh Saviour!
When my flame of faith is snuffed out, reach into the dark
And softly blow on my smouldering embers.
When untruth encroaches upon my conscience
And begins to bear fruit of peaceful normalcy
Fix my eyes upon Your Cross of blood and sweat.
When the earth becomes too tough to yield
Walk me upon the waters where every fear drowns.
My vigor and beats my heart to brokenness
Lend me a hand to stand Oh Saviour!
When my flame of faith is snuffed out, reach into the dark
And softly blow on my smouldering embers.
When untruth encroaches upon my conscience
And begins to bear fruit of peaceful normalcy
Fix my eyes upon Your Cross of blood and sweat.
When the earth becomes too tough to yield
Walk me upon the waters where every fear drowns.
-Amar Basil
/////////////////////////
BLANK SPACES
I have
looked at this blank space
Trying to
change the perception of this "empty" space
I have
started several lines
And sent
them back to unknown lands
Where they
will be picked up by others
Once upon
several times
Ideas so
rich that will drown the sahara
Bearing
offsprings of lush green that will make
The rain
forest a garden
Flowed
like the rays of the sun
Satires
and ode to love
Bloomed
like flowers during spring time
The most
powerful spaces are blank
Where
everything is possible
As I dent
this space
And you
read this
Erase it
So it will
be great again
For future
dent
Until one
day
A
befitting dent
Will
honour this space.
Ifeanyi Okwosha
//////////////////////////////////
FAULT IN OUR STARS
I think the curse is on our stars
Because we were made for each other
We fit like gears, we had no tears
You looked like harmattan
Spoke like the tropical rains
Danced like a storm
I was the quiet storm
And together we bred envy
Like a fertile pig
And we were perfect
But like nature nothing is perfect
We began to wear and tear like an overused gear
We began to wane like the seasons
There was no reason
We never knew the
reason
I think the fault is in our stars
Chisom
//////////////////////////////////////////////
Wane ke?
What is Sunshine
without rain
What is victory
without pain
We smile though
tears
Swallow our fears
And plan fate with
faith
We move in circles
Ignoring the cycles
The cycles are too
wide
So behind ignorance
we hide
But ignorance is
painful
Like wise fools
We bear the
pain
Looking painfully
vain
It's amazing to
find
If what may come is
taken
We will cry and use
our tears
To water our
hope
Our hope must
survive
Our positivity must
thrive
Our jokes must
never die
Every loss is a
gain
Come sunshine come
rain
We dey!
Nothing dey wane!!
Erhio
