Okechukwu’s Musings: Poetry, People and Places

Author: Oke Iroegbu

  • Proverb: On Borrowed Oil…

    Igbo: Mmanù arîótara arîóta anaghî ezu ofe English: Borrowed palm oil can never be enough for soup Origin: This proverb originated from Southern Nigeria. It is an Igbo proverb. Palm oil (mmanù akwú in Igbo) is a standard cooking oil used in West Africa. In Nigeria’s Yoruba, Igbo, Ijaw, Bini, and Ibibio land, it’s vital…

  • Story On Patience

    I received this short story on Whatsapp and thought I should share it. A 40-year-old man visited his old father, who could no longer see very well. As both of them sat in front of his house chatting, a dove flew in and perched on the window. The old man asked his son, “Is that…

  • Proverb: On The Informed Cripple…

    Igbo: Agha adìghï eri nwa ngwōrō English: An informed cripple can never be consumed by war Origin: This is a southern Nigerian proverb from the Igbo ethnic group. Usually, when there’s a state of war, cripples suffer most as they find it difficult to escape the war zone. But when such a person is informed…

  • ‘Not Suicidal’ Note

    For me, I won’t let it end For times, happy and sad, Setbacks and breakthroughs, Or the road winding uphill & down, Teach that storms don’t last forever Thus nothing will cheat me out of this life I remember the smiling faces of loved ones I remember good food, the free air, I remember blue…

  • Hope by Peniel Gifted

    Now I know, he’s a seraph In dreams- long ago, Searching the way to home. With beamy winks, the kin Of which bird legs do fly Watching greenie mount. Now I know, he’s a sire Of idols- bearing golden Scions, of which I’m one.

  • Night Poem: Rhythm of Hope

    I hear drums echo through the vast wilderness I hear the wild dogs cry out in the early night They cheer the retreating Day in the distance Bright galaxies sweep above to show her a path The drums remind me to play with words, Nature is my song, a rhythm of hope for the world

  • Video: The Iron Lung Man

    Nothing should ever hold back a man from his destiny. Paul defeated polio. Watch the inspiring story of a man who fought the odds to live.

  • Daylight

    Sunshine Morning inspiration Farm wake up call Of dreamy fields Outspread under clouds Ripen wheat And golden sunlight Glow upon the dirt

  • Adumaradan by Niyi Osundare

    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…

  • Valentine’s Day Quote

    I have given and received love, but the best love festivity is one observed with the family.

  • Genuine Love

    There’s no love without sharing For genuine love won’t hold back It doesn’t think anyone less It is a memory that will live on When remnants of life rot away There’s no love without caring No love without devotion and trust Love is accepting and being accepted It is living in submission to another To…

  • Night Poem: Love Is Beautiful

    Love is beautiful indeed I call it a fruit brown with ripe Which, when pressed, gives juices It is a little lads bicycle ride Down the lonely dusty road Love is a song that is written On panes of truth and care So I love not because of what one does But because of how…

  • Simple Ways To Overcome Sadness And Depression

    A happy family is a sadness killer The English dictionary defines depression as a state of mind that causes a severe and long-lasting decrease in enjoyment of life or the inability to envision a happy future. Many people experience this daily. Depression drains the joy and vitality from a person, even when they are still…

  • Poem: Remind me again

    Why do I feel like a titan When I come home to you? Oh, motherland, I run to you again Remind me of your love, of hope, I feel a tingling breeze upon my bare flesh The kind wind consoles me in many ways Listening to music from pine trees I shall throw my windows…

  • Quote on Love

    Love is beautiful. Genuine love gives the power to move mountains.

  • Stars

    I tell stories of many trees that live far away in forest shelters, Away from harm, that blesses man with delightful airs and nights, That tells of hope in every lovely dream for all that seek tree rights

  • African Proverb: On the cud-chewing Goat

    When mother goat chews on the grass, her kids watch and learn A goat is generally known as an animal with a unique way of chewing the cud. The kids watch the mother goat as she chew grass and picks the peculiarities. In no time, they will start to chew grass like the mother. This…

  • Anatomy of Actions Challenge: Day 15

    Today is the final day of our challenge! We will be talking about Choosing Experiences. How can one add value to life? Lakshay shared the following tips: 1. Engage in experiences and services that add value to your life 2. Find ways to spend time with people that you care about and make you laugh…

  • Poem: A Farmer’s Dream

    Night lets the farmer dream on his fields Little crickets hide in cracks on the earth They sing and listen to the wind howl Fairy butter-moths follow candlelight Amazed at the red maiden who was a wild dancer Valleys of ripe corn and golden wheat Are dreams blessed for the diligent farmer, When plates of…

  • Anatomy of Actions Challenge: Day 14

    Hey. We’re almost there! 😃 The fourteenth day of our challenge focuses on Enjoying The Journey! We can go on a local trip to discover our hometown. Camp, hike, bike, retreat, and enjoy the beauty all around you. We can watch the sunrise and sunset from our doorsteps or sit at the pool on a…

  • Quote on Humanity

    Enjoying the joys of others and suffering with them — these are the best guides for men – Albert Einstein, 1931

  • Anatomy of Actions Challenge: Day 13

    The important thing is not to stop questioning… Never lose a holy curiosity – Albert Einstein Today is the thirteenth day of challenge and we will focus on Staying Curious. A document shared by Anderson University detailed why it is important to stay curious. Intellectual curiosity is so important! We see that most clearly in…

  • A Grateful African Poem

    Now gather by the fireside While we wait on yams to roast, Drying our hands in the warmth This quiet evening, cold and mild We wait to dream A fluffy pillow beckoning, The day tales also waiting, A joyful evening it seems The sweet fellowship Of Nature’s trick and craft Upon the retreat fell, to…

  • Anatomy of Actions Challenge: Day 12

    Today is the twelfth day of the challenge, and the topic focuses on Energy Positive Homes. Positive Energy Homes are zero energy homes that are so efficient they produce more energy than they consume, leaving you with extra energy to use in other ways such as powering your mobile devices, power tools, or even your…

  • Plant A Tree…

    The little pic story below portrays what happens to man and animals when we exploit natural resources without considering the environmental impact. The picture tells a lot of stories, and I hope we can make meaning from it. Let’s plant trees and be heroes.

  • Quote On Hope

    We’ve to understand we are a lot stronger than we anticipate that we are. We’re a lot stronger than we believe we are. Believing in yourself, you can overcome the darkest moments. I can’t make up for the past, of course, but I just want to have a healthy future – Mike Tyson

  • Anatomy of Actions Challenge: Day 11

    Today is the eleventh day in our challenge, and we are focusing on divestment as means to help our environment. Divesting from fossil fuels makes sense environmentally and financially. The purpose of divesting from fossil fuels seeks to protect the planet from severe climate change, which coincides with the United Nations Global Goals.

  • Anatomy of Actions Challenge: Day 10

    It’s Day 10 of Anatomy Of Action, and today, we focus on Ethical Investing. We can use our principles to guide investing, considering socially and environmentally responsible options. Lakshay believes that “socially responsible investing, social investment, sustainable socially conscious, “green” or ethical investing is any investment strategy that seeks to consider both financial return and…

  • Anatomy of Actions Challenge: Day 9

    Green is Clean Today is the ninth day of the challenge, and we are focused on Going Cleaner. We need to reconsider our energy options. As the world is changing, people seek green energy options like solar, sonar, and wind as alternative sources to generate electricity. These renewable sources do not have significant impacts on…

  • Reflection: Keeping The Right Company

    Don’t let the world dim your lights. I was just a teenager when I realized that the kind of friends and acquaintances you keep can either help you grow or hold you back. It took me many years to accept that I can’t support anyone who doesn’t want my genuine help, and that life is…

  • Anatomy of Actions Challenge: Day 8

    Today is the eight day of the challenge, and our focus is on Sharing Your Ride. Sharing our ride can reduce much carbon emissions, resulting from having many cars on the road. We can also walk or cycle as this can be beneficial to our health.

  • Anatomy of Actions Challenge: Day 7

    Today being the seventh day of our challenge, focuses on exercising our body by Keeping Active. There are so many ways to work out. Find the best exercises that give you flexibility for work and family/personal time.

  • “I Bless The Rains Down in Africa!”

    In 2015, Paich, one of the singers, explained that the song Africa is about a man’s love of a continent, rather than just a personal romance. Lyrics of the song “Africa” by Toto I hear the drums echoing tonight But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation She’s coming in twelve-thirty flight Her moonlit…

  • Night Poem: Hope

    Hope are stars glowing, Lined up dotted heavens It’s gold hidden in the cloak Only to wait to be unveiled

  • Anatomy of Actions Challenge: Day 6

  • Anatomy of Actions Challenge: Day 5

  • Anatomy of Actions Challenge: Day 4

    The 4th day of the Anatomy Of Action challenge and today’s action point is Beyond Buying. Today’s impression is from a friend, Ghanshyam Bhattarai. Did you know that some reports indicate we consume twice as many material goods today as we did years ago? We believe possessions will make us secure and happy, and the…

  • Anatomy of Action Challenge: Day 3

    Today is the 3rd day of the Anatomy Of Action challenge, and today’s action is to grow your food. Backyard Garden A friend recommended that buying food locally grown from your farmer’s market or local grocer is a great way to minimize our environmental impact, but growing your food takes it to the next level.…

  • Love Poem: Drifting Stars

    You remind me of drifting stars, Of sops ripening in the sunrise, I’ll cling to your arms as a child For you have become my world

  • Anatomy of Action Challenge: Day 2

    It is the 2nd day of the Anatomy Of Action challenge, and today’s action point is focused on using all our food. So I’m going to talk about how we can use all our food to avoid waste. Part-time farmer I spent half of last year’s yuletide holidays on the farm. The farm is more…

  • Fantasy: On My Word

    My heart drums a familiar beat Each time my pen starts to work All nature gather at my feet, Little crickets swishing for more space, Shadows of ants behind the candlelight, And light-craving moths that crouch on my touch Cold wind makes me restless It flirts with my candlelight, Which dance wildly in a waltz…

  • Anatomy of Action Challenge: Day 1

    The Anatomy of Action Hi guys, There’s an exciting challenge among the youth globally, organized by the UNEPMGCY – United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY). While the youth is the main actor in this challenge, everyone is encouraged to get involved. The general theme focus on the food we…

  • Quote on Leadership

    A visionary leader is one who looks beyond present circumstances, someone who dreams and dares.

  • Beauty and Stones

    Hills covered in green Towering over valleys, Stories of man’s invention; Iron snakes and rickety wheels Sunshine is colour of ripe wheat Children play in the prairie fields Morning air swing up tall trees Beauty is seen all over the land There is so much beauty around But stones in the hearts of many men

  • Black and White

    Black and white That’s just colours Of birds, cliffs or streams Black is a word A cloudy sky or a tuft of hair Both are colours of nature: Black talons of hawks White feathers of swans None of these guys cares Taste the sweet coke Ever awe over why it is coloured Or why skies…

  • Twist and Turns

    Twist and turns; the song of life, Walk or run, up or down the cliffs, Vigor may come as a dream or wife

  • The Importance of Folklore In Igboland (Uru akụkọ ifo baara n’ala Igbo)

    The Igbo Storytelling Tradition Before the coming of the white man, the Igbo cultural society educated themselves through folktales. Storytelling was a revered tradition used to pass the wisdom of ancestors to the younger generation. It is assumed that anyone who can tell a good story is wise. The Igbo people believe in a supernatural…

  • Quote for The Week: Kindness

    A true selfless act always sparks another – without fail ~ Klaus

  • Life’s Flow by Robin Bliss

    Going with the flow of life Or Rather starting to do so Just as water flows naturally To form runnels, streamlets To join the rivers which Also, flow to meet the ocean So our life’s flow onwards Never backward To join the great sea of eternity The marvelous oneness of which We are all part…

  • Martin Luther King Jr Day

    Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day. To celebrate this icon I decided to post some of his quotes. 1. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. 2. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. 3. The time is always right…