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| WINNER POEM OF THE MONTH - ERHIO OBODO |
CLAIRE - (POEM OF
THE MONTH)
My Sweet Air
I cannot promise you that from today
I will make all your pain go away
Neither can I promise that from tomorrow
I will rid your path of all sorrows
But throughout changing tides
I will be by your side
Together
We will face life's weather
We will laugh together
Cry together
Whine together
Argue if ever
Wherever
Forever
Always together
And if ever you need a little space
I will give you a few hours of grace
For you are my Air
And I am your sweet dear
Whatever it takes
Corrections and mistakes
Through thick and thin
Repentance and sin
Spilt milk and dry gin
I'll always be here.
I will be here
To guide you through the mire
To show you wrong from right
And how best to avoid a fight
I will be here
To share in your despair
When you discover just how low
An evil heart can go
I'll be here to share your pain
When others disappoint you again and again
When you discover how much vanity makes a man
vain
Or when other people's shamelessness makes you
feel ashamed
Through thick and thin
Repentance and sin
Corrections and mistakes
No matter how high the stakes
I will be here
For you are my Air
And I am your sweet dear
Words come easy they say
So with actions my feelings will be displayed
I will build bridges in the sky
Teach horses how to fly
There's nothing I wouldn't do
Just to convince you
I'll even nag you all day long
If ever I think you are wrong
And if it turns out I'm wrong
I'll sing you a thousand apology songs
So even though I can't predict tomorrow
I can wipe away yesterday's sorrow
By making you smile all through today
In my own special way
For you are my breath of fresh air
And I remain your sweet dear
And I'll always be here.
My darling Air
My Sweet Dear
You promised you'll always be here
But like smoke you vanished into thin air
You left behind too much space
Too many hours of grace
You climbed those bridges in the sky
Without even saying goodbye
Left alone in this cruel world
Without a sentence, phrase or word
I cry alone every night
Watering my pillow with all my might
You left me in mid flight
Now I am a lonely kite
Drifting through each day
Without you guiding my way
I thought it was unfair
You promised to be here
Instead you redefined sorrow
And took away tomorrow
Now I keep promises at bay
And live life just for today
Through thick and thin
Spilt milk and dry gin
I try to raise my chin
But I miss you my sweet dear
I hope you'll at least be there
When I too get to leave here
... Love Air
Erhio
////////////////////////////////////////////////
BY THE TIME WE ARE
DONE WITH OURSELVES – (worthy of mention)
By the time the sun calls it a day
When the earth explodes in fits of rage
By the time suddenness takes over sullenness
When the gazes we avoid can no longer be found
Those sweet lies we told on the cheap
For which we are beckoned on to pay a heavy
price
By time we are done with ourselves
Paid in kind for being cool when anger is
expected
Left in the lurch saddled with the truth
By men you respected
By the time we are done with ourselves
Pulled by the hair
Dragged along on a journey
Failed promises made to love ones
Because we are not returning
Those laughter that died before the teeth were
opened
Those doors they taught they closed
When the insides were ovens
By the time we are done with ourselves
Loosening grips
Because emotions became reflex
Guilty trips
For minds which when they lived failed to
reflect
Using smiles as a smokescreen
For cans we failed to carry
Tarrying behind
A resolve to not play your part
Before the party begins
By the time we are done with ourselves
Unable to roll our sleeves
Ready to work in the after hours
Ready to toil but left in a quagmire
You were the man they all admired
You carried their hopes
And fertilized it with deceit
They emptied their pockets
And your words became receipt
You were kin until you declared yourself king
You were lean
Till we became your harvests and you grew big
You were getting older but your soul got
harder
You led the way to the pit
Victory to you is succumbing to defeat
By the time we are done with ourselves
Too loose
To be saddled with values
Too blind to see they are losing the battle
Remained static
Unfeeling
We left our rivers and started drinking blood
By the time we are done with ourselves
Left panting,
There’s no one to separate a fight
Grappling in the dark
What shall we do without light
Greed held the reins and they could not pull
together
Things fall apart
We laugh at the soft grip of the center
We called after our brothers but they had gone
far
We could not make a wish while we faced a
shooting star
By the time we are done with ourselves
When the skies proceed to the earth
And all around us becomes dark
When those who escaped
Are not saved from the anguish of those left
behind
When we realized derisive laughter
Of chapters taught to be closed
Have always remained open
Those words from our tongues
Those deeds pushed forth by the desire of one
That pushed us all beyond the brink
This is what we have done to ourselves
Darkened faces, charred by smoke
Sudden ends to races, an aftermath of slit
throats
Internally displaced persons being fed by
rogues
The men to whom we swore oaths
Who reap harvests alone
Neighbors become mobs and we become food for
their rage
We often know the truth but may choose to look
the other way
We need names of the dead before deciding to
weep
This is what we have done to ourselves…
Akeem Adetayo Oyalowo
/////////////////////////////////////////////
Give me a promise – (worthy of
mention too)
Little children know to dance to the rhythm of
the wind.
Blank minds guiding gentle torsos through
peace,
holding on to the promise
of a mother.
Adonis,
Give me laughter.
Teach me the language of immortals.
Teach me to dance and guide my feet to rest.
Let us sing happiness a melody.
With the moon as a witness, give me a promise.
Uche
Amaobi
/////////////////////////////////////////////
THE INK THAT DIED
9
The worst place for a person to live is inside
of another person.
There is usually never enough space to hold
two different colours of shirt.
It's never possible for the senses to
absorb the smell of a rose long enough
To tell which is supposed to ache and which is
supposed to comfort
10
Pens were never meant to bleed
Thoughts were never meant to go to war
The sword became a coward
So now words are not afraid to draw blood.
Here I bury my tears, and hope it gives birth
to something other than a corpse.
11
My body aches at different places
But for the same reason
The same reason why my heart aches
Is the same reason why my muscle aches
It's the same reason why the world aches
12
With mornings come the beauty of newness
Clothing mountains in flattering auras
Bathing green meadows in golden rays of
sunshine
Colours the stream into the eyeballs of Yemoja
All mornings come with the beauty of newness
Some just have dark clouds riding over them
13
By the pool side
The breeze is colder and cooler than usual
Brushing against my ears and making me regret
again, why I didn't bring thicker clothes
Or have thicker skin
The breeze is cold yet not mean
Makes we wonder if I really need thicker
clothings or thicker skin
When the mind is set aloft bodies of water
Everything suddenly starts to make sense
14
The green leaves bopping atop each other
Paying obeisance to the wind
The morning birds atop electric cables
Singing out their heart
The one that occasionally dives too low into
the pool
As if to say I'm not afraid of the water
As if to say, I'd like to be the water
As if to say, when the melodies of the heart
no longer ache, nowhere is large enough to be called home
As if to say, I'd rather be a body of water
than draw another breathe
15
Sometimes sit by the poolside and read a good
book
Wonder how many more words it would take to
turn your reality into a fiction
Where new words like morning could erase the
gloom of yesterday
Sometimes sit by the poolside
And wonder what it takes to swap places with a
book
Ajijola Habeeb
////////////////////
FLATLINE
I’m a flatline
Don’t expect any promises from me
In the past
When my heart was still young and open
I Cleared the hurdles like a jumping horse
Cantered merrily in the arena to the applause of society’s approval
Wove in and out of love’s game
like a horse at pole bending
I am retiring from the wiles of love making
I don’t even have the energy for barrel racing
The adrenaline is gone
I’m done with the rodeo of love
I’ve thrown my saddle in
Kemibon
Don’t expect any promises from me
In the past
When my heart was still young and open
I Cleared the hurdles like a jumping horse
Cantered merrily in the arena to the applause of society’s approval
Wove in and out of love’s game
like a horse at pole bending
I am retiring from the wiles of love making
I don’t even have the energy for barrel racing
The adrenaline is gone
I’m done with the rodeo of love
I’ve thrown my saddle in
Kemibon
//////////////////////////////////////////
WE DON'T WANT THEIR
SHIT
Your words woke the dawn
galaxies came to dance
One, two, three, four
A second tenure
We still crave assurance
Now the killer is next door
We are taken prisoners of fate
Stay in, locked in
the house is the saviour
They say
our faith hangs on an unfair balance
to hunger death
They shouted
We hear killer has got a cure
Like pigs we are favoured sons for the
slaughter
Who will tell them that
we are no longer the monkey,
that our dead cells are living now?
Who will dare to wave the flag
To halt these slave masters
Make them swallow their shits?
Like hell they have repacked their proposition
They are giving us their men in white
But do we really need them here?
How can we believe their truth?
Chris N John
////////////////////////////////////////////
VOWS AT SUNSET
in amazement of the continuous course of life.
. .
At sunset, the world looks the most beautiful
and appeasive. With the sun disappearing
below the western horizon comes nightfall.
The color of sunset is one that speaks many
words
of love and war.
To conquer love is to to win its war.
Sunset is when two distant lovers
look up to the vault of the heavens
with feelings of saudade and jealousy
intertwined. They think of each other
and mutter quiet words
in the language
that only reds and yellows understand. Each
passing day they see reflections
of pale tints of hues
that wink with heartfelt romance
which robs them of their sanity.
Sunset is tenderly warm. Artists
carefully revel in its warmth
so they don't lose themselves in awe
of its half-finished canvas. Mothers
look out for their kids
at sunset so they don't lose their ways.
To lovers, sunsets are promises
waiting to be made, and promises
are words to live by. Indeed
sunsets are reminders
of mortality.
Olaitan Humble
////////////////////////////////////////////////
WHEN THIS IS ALL OVER
When our joy is no longer darkened by this
scary evil
When we no longer wear our tempers on our
sleeves
When there is no longer crying for wine in
the streets
When our silence is no longer replaced by
strange winds
When our resilience is no longer smashed to
smithereens
When we no longer feel tired from doing
practically nothing
When the menace in our heads is replaced by
sound peace
When we no longer worry about every tiny
itch in our throats
When our spirits no longer feel shackled and
our core no longer shaken
When our world is no longer tethering on the
edge of this circular chasm
When all of this is over, we are grabbing
the next priest we see and saying ‘we do’.
Priscilla Ahaiwe
///////////////////////////////////////////////
PROMISE
It's been months since I left,
my dreams are about you each time I slept.
I've ever since pictured you in my mind,
but know that I'll be back in due time.
I've missed your voice,
which sounds like a singing bird.
I've missed your touch,
Which is sweet when felt.
Each hour, each minute and second,
during day and night,
I wished I could teleport,
or communicate through telepathy.
I'm missing your warm embrace,
I'm missing your sweet talks during the day.
I missed sleeping in your arms at night,
and wake up to the bloom of daylight.
I know it might be taking long,
thinking, either to wait or move on.
I know I've made you a promise,
only when I return, will I keep it
It's been months since I left,
my dreams are about you each time I slept.
I've ever since pictured you in my mind,
but know that I'll be back in due time.
I've missed your voice,
which sounds like a singing bird.
I've missed your touch,
Which is sweet when felt.
Each hour, each minute and second,
during day and night,
I wished I could teleport,
or communicate through telepathy.
I'm missing your warm embrace,
I'm missing your sweet talks during the day.
I missed sleeping in your arms at night,
and wake up to the bloom of daylight.
I know it might be taking long,
thinking, either to wait or move on.
I know I've made you a promise,
only when I return, will I keep it
Chimezie
Chibueze
////////////////////////////////////////////
240 DAYS
Thoughts, Opinions and arguments
14 Days slammed
Thoughts, opinions and arguments
240 Days
Man omits the thoughts
And commit to opinions and arguments
240 Days
The thoughts are missing
14 Days and counting
Action, looting and arguments
240 Days
Yet nature looks and smile
Keep counting
240 Days
Parables or fables
Nature never lies.
Ilupeju
//////////////////////////////////////////
THE STRAYER
Sun blazing , on a summers day
Empty dreams in London streets lay
Beneath his black faded hat posed crisp hair
Vows broken nothing more to declare
Thoughtless he gazed
As vehicles advanced
But as he glanced afar, off road
Far in the crowds as sight lost its
guide
The sweet gaze died, then shadowy figures in
the gloom came aboard
A few wispy memories of childhood
For a clearer gaze he walked down the lane
Scratching his unshaven African mane
Alas! it was an African sister
Cleansing lavatories of an English blighter
Slowly she laboured in pain
In her beautiful gown of melanin
The strayer strode to the African woman
With a dispirited face, his eyes oozed with
tears like river Jordan
"How long have you been doing this,
sister"?,the strayer asked.
"Since the days of my youth, I left home
in search of greener pastures",replied the old lady.
They then held hands firmly
And she left the bloom lonely
Tears flowed from both ends
They couldn't hug, for the sake of their roots
"Get back to work, demanded the English
blighter
Strayer strode off, Fellowship was disbanded,
her eyes left to glister
She remained with pain and desire
Memories of home, sitting around fire
The strayer went with homecoming dreams to
recall
God pity them both!and pity us all!
Shadrech
Cayomble
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////
PROMISE
Give me your word says
Son
Let it not blur in the
wake of a resting sun
Though it flows freely
like water beneath a sail
I would wait and keep
watch that it does not make me wail
Give me your word says
Don
In laughter and joy it
would come when done
Though it’s poured
forth in tears of blood
I would wait to wring
from it all happiness by any odd
Give me your word says
Hope
You would not let it
linger I would hope
Though made in a
moment not gay
I would wait by the
waves and on knees pray
Give me your word says
Doubt
You would lose it of
this I have no doubt
Though now your eyes
shine and hands shake in earnest need
I would wait for when
you come again with failure at your feet or so you would plead
Give me your word says
Time
Give me your word
Even though it’s but a
sword
To forever keep and
hold dear,
This is a promise I
willingly bear
Abimbola
Abayomi
/////////////////////////////////////////////
PROMISE
When the heart basks in ecstasy,
The lips dance in haste,
Thriving past the beats rhythm.
Behold! Words speak themselves
As they kiss the edge of the stamp.
The heart is gullible,
The mind is feeble,
Your words let be on a marble,
Everytime it will be traceable.
Lest, the end arrives lamentable.
I know a man, humble,
With many trusts in his hand, fumble,
The young and old rumble,
The walls of the city grumble,
His words die as he breathes, his lots tumble.
Words are as sweet as honey,
Words are as beautiful as roses,
Words are as hurtful as a dagger,
Words are egg, broken and not forgotten.
Words are life if they do not fail.
Listen before you speak,
Think before you act,
Be sure before you answer,
The heaven and earth witness,
Let your words not be vained but availed.
Olatunji S. Olufemi “Folat”
////////////////////////////////////////////////
PROMISE
TO THE ONE
To the One I love.
I can’t catch a
grenade for you,
as Bruno Mars.
Neither, do I have 30
billion naira
in my account like
Davido.
But,
Stay with me like Sam
Smith,
and we will fly over
the moon,
like Dr Sid.
To the One I hate.
As in Joyce Meyer”s
book,
" To live a
happy life,let go of hate".
So, I free you.
Not just for you,
but for me also.
I wish you well, just
as Joseph,
in the Holy Book.
To my friends.
Count on me, like,
one, two, three,
as in Bruno Mars song,
and I will be there.
We will waste no more
time,
fighting against each
other,
But, against the
world,
We will fight.
To Death and Life.
Death!
Surely, we will meet.
But not today,
not in the near
future.
Cos, Life and I have a
business,
that lasts,
till a hundred years
to come.
Until then,
we have no deal.
Joseph
Amami
////////////////////////////////////////////////////
WHY DIDST THOU PROMISE SUCH A BEAUTEOUS DAY
After Shakespeare.
Friday, Father, health, luck, faith, for
nothing, all have good, but why
is the good in good-bye so bad it didst
make me worry so much about what thou
art done, and are doing. Will you promise
not to linger in my temples with such
naked feet, gentle, tame, as cute as a
wild unicorn flying across beauteous
rainbows. Twenty times a better summer day?
Abby
Tobiah Victory
////////////////////////////////////////////////
BREAKFAST
Breakfast comes with pops of sneezing
Giving birth to coughings of dry throat
Overnight fastings we fail to break it
Breakfast comes in atoms confusing
Sending people panic stricken
Streets lament we are now deserted
Lunch is served with self-distancing
Self-isolation now our watchword
Quarantine a trending appetizer
Dinner is served
Still alcohol sells like hotcake
Ice-cream, cold beer no one is taking
Office and schools in desolate lockdown
Dessert is served
Countries screaming and shouting
Gobbling food hundred degrees Celsius
To keep this crown from snuffing out lives
Prescription is served
Sanitizers turn expensive than red wine
Vitamin C to boost immunity
Quinine overdose suited with nose masks
Keeps the body right above balance
Prescription is served…
Internet begets education flying home
Virtual-planes have swallowed the media
Viral thoughts on virtual-planes
Spread its legs in travels faster than Covid
Ballooning the virus all unknowing
Prompting a fear that is unexpected
And all at once humanity halts
Corona make me a promise
You’ll solemnly stand by
At this great exit of your humble bow
We see signs of positivity
A new dawn is served.
© Sandra
Achebe
////////////////////////////////////
NOTE TO SELF
I want to get over it
I want to ignore it
I want to look it in the eye and gloat
But
Those were castles I built for me in the air.
Fed up I rushed towards it on a lone night
luckily i drowned
but,
I also resurfaced.
I drowned again
but i didn't only resurface
I also got washed up.
* *
* *
Still living
with my heart now laying in the
enclosed palm
of the creator.
I now know how to filter them
Those words
Those actions,
For when he formed me
He formed me alone.
I am a lover of words and he is the word.
Out of his fullness, he spoke the word that
transformed into the breath that gave me life.
Now I know why I lived again,
Now I know why I resurfaced and got washed up
Now I know why my personalities have gone mute
Now I know why I am writing this note to self
It's all about his word,
that word,
that unique word that endlessly refired when I
planned to retire.
That word that ministered peace to the storm
raging in the depth of my heart.
Those words written for me to acclaim.
Those words written page by page, chapters
after chapters, books after books.
Those words revealed unto me like manna from
above.
Those words that assembled themselves as a
deep sentence engraved onto my soul,
Those words, "Peace Be Still".
Jesukorede
Esther ©I Am AGEless
//////////////////////////////////
PROMISE
To
love and nurture,
a
mutually beneficial future
To
give and receive,
as
equal and opposite
Our
covenant
It
seems you have reneged?
Your
phenotype is now strange
Summer
is now cold
As
winter is a blizzard stronghold
Rain
is now harmattan's companion
My
mouth in awe of such a strange union
But
uou have always been faithful:
What
I give you,
you
paid me back in full
Olumide Soyemi
////////////////////////////////////
THE
PROMISE
The promised day, a
thousand years.
A star, a twinkle in
the constellation filled with fulfillments.
Our clock is ticking.
We are guests with so
many visits.
The vines in the
vineyard ripens,
Reaping season now
follows.
In the heart of
seedlings,
Where;
Despair, anger,
avarice, jealousy, hate may …
Or;
Hope, joy, peace,
faith, love may…
Home is what we make
of it.
The river runs red as
the red moon emerges
We kneel in times of
great uncertainties,
Jubilate in times of
joyful fulfillments.
Events will forever
arise
Like the waking of the
morning, after the rule of the night
The joy of a mother
after the pain of labour
A gift of another hope
To nurture
To dream again
A fulfillment of a
journey through time.
Ifeanyi
Okwosha
////////////////////////////////////////
NAMASTE
What if time stands
still?
And all we have to
smile for
Remains the moment
Strung between us.
What if love is all we
have?
To hold on to
When nothing remains
As we bid off
While holding our
breath.
What if odyssey
exists?
Only in illusory
vision
What we had was apercu
Swirling us in twirls
Till we become the lie
We try to elude
In haste of judgement
We never see
What we set out to
see.
What if we’re the
dream?
We dream to forget
The apparition that
exists
In shadowy crevices
The blithe we hold
When cloudy mists
Threaten our vision
To unleash its bowels
On our gaunt, frail
souls.
What if no difference
exists?
Between the conscious
And unconscious
As we struggle awake
While still asleep.
What if the end we
detest?
Holds the bliss we
lust
And the beginning we
cherish
Holds the end we
abhor.
What if all we ever
have is
Droplets of goodbye?
Scattered fleeting
moments
Of existential facades
Merciful angel
Goading us further
Into straddled gait.
What if all there is
Is willful Namaste?
Strutted in willful
reality.
KUNLE
ILUPEJU
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
ON A TIMELY ROAD
We ride in time
In a cold machine
On a road in life
We have fragile breaks
No mirrors
No horns
And many blindspots
Our engine is old
It's fuel is new and we fight
To reach the good place
In our warm dreams
What's on the road ahead?
The glass is blurry.
We don't know.
Perhaps an antelope crossing
Or a lorry passing by.
Should we move fast or slow?
Because we don't know if we are lost
And we don't know if we are wrong
The lorry is far
And the car speeds closer
Just when we try
Try to slow down at a curve
Of our desire,
We crash into the lorry.
But the lorry doesn't slam us.
Abiola
Bonuola
////////////////////////////////////////
PLEDGES TO
RETURN
Cracked creak old walls
Oozing its dust.
Swaying to hop,
Something vanished as being perceived.
Falsehood flaunted
Creaming every building
To fame frailty.
Every souls yelled,
To mourn the dread dust
Departure in banter.
Weighing the loss is no better
But a lot matters.
Sapient could express in taunts.
Knowing every building
Is whelmed with frailty.
A bugbear to make believability
To strand across all possibility.
None could stand worthy,
All staggering, crumbling.
The dust is bitter dirt to buildings.
When it came, made no taste.
Yet thee; adopt not its chaste.
Twas wiped,
As it weep in pledges
To return - if thee;
Buildings has been contrived
To make way for its sooth.
Inumidun mulero “midun”
//////////////////////////////////////////
PROMISES:
Some were billed
for the promised land
Not all got there
For some it remained an unfulfillable promise.
Others were invited
to the land of promises.
Many did not pick up the tab as they were
mostly unaware that in Milosz' words they could ask for the city to last.
They could ask by speaking a word.
They could ask for the Nations as an
inheritance and bend them to their will.
But they did not
They could not
They did not know
They could have known; should have known, if
only they had read the testament,
the covenants and
the extant probate documents.
The one who does not read is as bad as the one
who cannot read. No, the one who does not read is worse, because can and
wouldn't, is infinitely worse than can and therefore, didn't
To the point- Promises!
The fake ones made by a few, some, many, most,
all politicians.
The Trumpian ones which should not have been
made because offending against natural justice and affection, but made and
ostensibly kept.
The threats which really ought to have been
promises and which if kept might have preserved the lives of the sons of
prophets and great deliverers of their people
As with Absalom, Ahitophel, Onan and Ammon
All they needed was someone to keep the
promise of parents.
Someone to say no
Someone to keep the promise of Nationhood
A promise already in breach because based on a
lie that we the people gave something that we didn't give; we couldn't have given;
we were not allowed to give!
Andrew
Whyte
////////////////////////////////////////////
loudthotzpoetry.blogspot.com
ONGOING
PROMISE
We were in our prime full of promises of life
envied by immortal but lived only by few mortals
Promises of life devoid of the stinks from the
bleached heart of humans beyond the sea
We hold promises that promise to blossom far
beyond the setting of the sun,, full of smiles,, even with wrinkles envied by
youth
Until he came from Wu -An blowing breezes of
death and like the leaves in winter our promises blown away
Marcus Michael
