Your love engulfs me
As the harmattan overwhelms the heat
I will pledge a thousand favours to the wind
To courier my voice to your ears
Adumaradan, come close to me
So you can behold the honour of my presence
Since the day I set eyes on you
Since the day I had a glimpse of your beauty
Your love has ridden me like a horse of wild winds
I cannot sleep; repose is far from my eyes
Adumaradan, come close to me
So you can behold the honour of my presence
Adumaradan of inestimable beauty
You are the palm oil, honour of the soup
You are the whiteness which proclaims the splendour of the teeth
You are camwood, deep red in the house of beauty
Adumaradan, come close to me
So you can behold the honour of my presence
What is the weaverbird’s work if not the building of wondrous nests
What is the crab’s task if not the digging of holes in the swamp
What job has the scarab beetle besides the music of the heights
What is the lover’s duty if not the pouring of honey into the ears of the beloved
Adumaradan, come close to me
So you can behold the honour of my presence
Teeth-whiter-than-new-coins, owner of the alluring toothgap
She of the bouncing buttocks, who-adorns-the-chest-with-breasts
Adufe**, paragon of beauty so full of wisdom
Come let’s play the game of the young and free
Adumaradan, come close to me
So you can behold the honour of my presence
Notes
* One-whose-blackness-is-the-beauty-of-her-skin
** The-one-for-whose-favour-the-world-competes
Niyi Osundare is a leading African poet, dramatist, linguist, and literary critic. Born on March 12, 1947, in Ikere-Ekiti, Nigeria, his poetry is influenced by the oral traditions of his Yorùbá culture. Osundare is a free speech champion, and his creative and critical writings are closely associated with political activism, decolonisation, black internationalism, and the environment. He is the recipient of numerous prizes, including the Noma Award (Africa’s most prestigious book award), the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Poetry Prize, the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, the Tchicaya U Tam’s Poetry Prize, the ANA/Cadbury Poetry Prize (twice), and the Fonlon/Nichols Award, which he received in 1998 for “excellence in literary creativity combined with significant contributions to Human Rights in Africa.” In 2014, Osundare was admitted to the National Order of Merit, his country’s highest honour for intellectual distinction. Until recently, he was a Distinguished Professor of English at the University of New Orleans.
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