Okechukwu’s Musings: Poetry, People and Places

Author: Oke Iroegbu

  • You are Your Thoughts

    Know that whatever you will become is a function of your thoughts. We are what we think. With our thoughts, we make our world. What you picture in your mind, your mind will accomplish for you. Consider the image above. While the world saw a cat, the cat saw himself a Lion! We could be…

  • African Proverb: On The Chameleon

    Proverb: A chameleon that wants to survive from the burning bush must abandon the majestic walk of its ancestors. Origin: When there’s a fire in the bush, all living things around there fly, crawl, run for dear lives. Even the slowest among them will make a drastic effort to escape the fire. Chameleons are slow-walking…

  • Reflection and Short Poem on Global Warming

    Global Warming Is Real If you are in West Africa, you’ll notice that the harmattan winds didn’t blow this past year. Growing up, it was normal to witness dry, intense storms that blew in the morning, noon, and evening. Then, exposed body parts would turn white unless you used a particular type of oil pomade.…

  • Night Poem: A Shepherd’s Dream

    The distant twinkling stars are his friends, The sweet, mild breeze his companion, Day may end with sleep full of pleasant dreams

  • Hurricane by Nicole Coventry

    I read this excellent piece, and I fell in love with it. I should share it with you. This is from Nicole Coventry’s poetry book The Chaos of Letting Go. I had mistaken you For the sea For sunshine And soft sand But you ended up Being the hurricane That destroyed me

  • Quote on Love

    Affection to loved ones is half the journey; the rest is learning to recognize the pain of others.

  • Muse: Morning Poem

    As the golden day breaks, It gave scented fog of hope When the lovely sun of joy rise So ina murna – I’m delighted, When you look at me each morning To share this unerring, loving smile To admit that you love me like bread loves butter

  • Poem: Let Dry Bones Receive Life

    Heed my call, dear wind Listen and let your strength On every dry land and life Gather turf, swoop down Upon the vale and hills Let my voice echo down valley Provoke dry bones to receive life Let it be quiet upon the still fogs Early when night battled dawn Let this life-giver wind restore…

  • Video: Meet the Hyena Men of Northern Nigeria

    Some men possess magical abilities to control wild animals. Watch the Hyena men from the rural parts of Northern Nigeria perform in the streets of Lagos. These men mastered this roadside circus from a tender age. I’ve caught a glimpse of their live-action once. I confirm that their performances are phenomenal and not for the…

  • Video: Umqobothi by Yvonne Chaka Chaka

    It’s Friday! What better way to spend the sunny weekend but to enjoy the refreshing African magic beer? Observe the excitement on the faces of laborers when they remember home and the waiting beer.

  • Quote: Dream The Impossible

    Nature loves the courageous. Dream the impossible and the world will not grind you under; it will lift you – Oke Iroegbu.

  • Poem: Listen To Nature

    Pace alongside cassava stalks On a bright, sunny day, Let the wind blow hot air When masquerades stomp Hear the hawk call out Watch her float up the sky, Stay off from the untamed bush Urge the wind to wait till sunset Nudge the funny crabs away Soak in the ecstatic springs Drink her life-giving…

  • Quote on Compassion

    There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it – Edith Wharton

  • Quote on Hope

    When I got enough confidence, the stage was gone. When I was sure of losing, I won. When I needed people the most, they left me. When I learnt to dry my tears, I found a shoulder to cry on. When I mastered the skill of hating, someone started loving me to the core of…

  • Thought for the Week: Patience and Perseverance

    Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear, and obstacles vanish – John Quincy Adams These two virtues distinguish success from failure, achievement from disappointment. If one can adopt them, then they can conquer the world. Reflect on this.

  • Many Tongues, One People

    I wrote this poem on January 2, 2017, upon my return from Northern Nigeria. Before this, I have always viewed people from other tribes suspiciously. This is because of the bitterness and rivalry amongst Nigeria’s tribes. But having had experience living in several parts of Nigeria, things took a spin, and I started seeing the…

  • Video: The African Problem

  • Far Away

    My heart dances & lives to laugh, Under this beautiful moonshine, With my troubadour & cheerful strength, This heart remains in my hometown Even as dreams live in another country I follow these dreams far away To return to this heart someday

  • When Tree Leaves Drop

    When tree leaves drop That’s nature trying to teach a man, A lesson on the audacity of hope – Reason to live, trust and love again

  • Happy New Year 2021

    A new year is like a blank book, and the pen is in our hands. It is a chance to write a beautiful story for ourselves. Happy New Year. It’s midnight West African Time, and January 1st, 2021, is finally here. Let me start by wishing you that is reading a Happy New Year. Amid…

  • What 2020 Taught Me

    Failure Is Not Final “What did you learn in 2020?” That is the big question for everyone. So I’m going to share a bit of what 2020 taught me and how I have evolved into a resilient individual. Indeed a lot had transpired this year; wars, disasters, locust infestation, Brexit – EU trade issues, MAGA,…

  • Plant Trees, Plant Hope

    We can’t replace trees that are thousands of years old. But we can plant new ones; we can instill hope for our future generations. Sad image Sequel to my earlier post on uncontrolled bush burning, which destroys plant and animal habitats, I decided to write further on this sad image I stumbled upon. Man and…

  • The Masquerades of Amune

  • Hope

    Behold life prevails on ship sails and up the horizon if one won’t look down For, new daylight brings distinct gust rapidly take it in and claim another win!

  • Love Poetry: She

    she wears pleasant flowers and bakes cakes made of flour she sings in the morning and my heart dance with her song

  • A Big No To Wild Bush Burning

    Home again It’s a full moonlight tonight. The evening air is modest. We are all sitting outside, just in front of the house, discussing the day’s work. Some lay, rolling on mats spread close to one another. In between the lead tale teller’s story, distracting dialogues transpire, though as whispers. Incessant noises made by insects…

  • Oscar Wilde’s Selfish Giant: Seasons Greetings

    I came home yesterday and saw my dad’s favorite Oscar Wilde book of tales. The selfish giant is my best of them all; there’s a big lesson in it. I’ve applied a minor revision to the original story. The Selfish Giant Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to go and…

  • Quote on Resilience

    The oak fought the wind and was broken; the willow bent when it must and survived. – Robert Jordan, The Fires of Heaven

  • A Shepherd’s Song

    Tut, tsi, tut, tsi, Do you think I was talking to myself? Haha, not in any way! I call on my sheep that way So we bond, using this unique code When they disperse over the pasture I sit to play my guitar, a song hallelujah Trembling fingers, dry in the noon sun, The flavour…

  • Quiet Night

    A silent night from the inside A noisy one out in the wild Nighttime for cricket buzzing Lullaby against a sleepy wind

  • Quote on Respect 1

    Let’s build a world where women don’t have to become violent just to be respected by men.

  • Poem: When Tree Leaves Fall

    Tree leaves dance when they fall, trembling quietly Brown leaves, some dull in red and lighter green All manoeuvre in the same direction of the wind When bold leaves fall off the branches They twist and sail through the wind Some set up leisure, settling on the moist below Sailing off, noiselessly to other stream…

  • What Is Poem?

    What I Think of Poetry We’ve discussed many issues in the past, but in today’s Poets Corner, we will be talking about poems. Poems are known by other names, namely: verse, ballad, ode, dirge, elegy, passage, lyrics, songs, hymns, stanza, epic, haiku, and more. I will say poetry is a function of mood and situation.…

  • Reflection: A King Without A Crown

    A King Without A Crown I used to adopt a noble persona whenever acting among my peers. I remember playing King Nebuchadnezzar in a high school religious studies drama class. It was fun hearing my classmates address me as the king. Nebu—the short-lived nickname that followed—wasn’t much fun. Please don’t listen to me; I enjoyed…

  • Love Poem: Twilight

    Evening lurks behind Even as sunset float ahead, It heralds the end of daylight So we watch it go in installments, We feel softer airs traverse Drifting with pure grace Upon our hair and coats It gets darker; nature’s notice We wonder what it meant To follow orange twilights As it glides down the horizon…

  • Reflection on Responsibility

    A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of – Nelson Mandela Everyone has a role to play in our society. Even the smallest can contribute to positive change. Often, people think that responsibility is only…

  • Ashanti Proverb: When You Walk In Your Father’s Path

    When you follow in the path of your father, you learn to walk like him – Ashanti proverb This excellent Ghanaian adage is self-explanatory. I’ll try to explain some salient points. Generally, it’s an African believe that a child who goes nearer to his father grow up acting and speaking like him. Indeed, this is…

  • The Journey Is Short: Do Good

    I champion good leadership, love, peace, reconciliation, and forgiveness. That’s why so much of my stories and writing emphasis those virtues. I like to borrow a leaf from Mandela, who, after encountering great tribulation, did not adapt to his prosecutor’s ways. The short story below was copied from a friend’s Facebook timeline. I decided to…

  • Night Poem: Peace

    A tranquil evening is nature’s way Of welcoming a weary shepherd, Sundown – his thoughtful views heralds, Memories in which trees fiercely dance And soft grasses wait when birds fly home

  • Commentary on A Tale of the Wild Woods

    This is folklore written by Oscar Wilde, and one that I enjoyed as a teenager. I feel the mix of the honest voice of a boy who loves nature and a budding young writer, happy to engage his wits on imaginative adventures. This work wasn’t meant to be political in any way, but reflecting on…

  • Muse: Sunrise

    Fortune may rise with the sunlight For dawn, flourishing lovely dew, Presents a distinct day for a new start And to every man, equal odds to grow

  • My Hometown

    One wakes to the call of Nature every day, with the sun ushering the day Huhuhu-Lalala-kiki, all sort of songs welcome the sun’s golden streaks Crickets quiz, wasps and bees buzz, snakes hiss away, the clock ticked Familiar sounds echo, strong wind rushing through the high tree lines Underneath the vegetation, silent waters flow, but…

  • Old Poem

    I like to think that the stars had seen it all—the beginning of life and the present. The stars are always up there, day and night, and they have seen a lot happen on earth. They have witnessed government regimes come and go; kingdoms rise and fall, and all we can ever imagine – known…

  • Opinion: Ethiopia and Tigray 2

  • Someone There by Njabulo N.

    Today I sit in a room clouded by darkness, With pain dominating my body system, Writing for a better tomorrow. As the butterflies flood my tummy, With the air breeze so sweet and calm. I can see beauty deep inside my eyes. Show me the sun that shines bright, Bright more than a bulb in…

  • Night Poem: Tranquility

    A walk away from men Silent songs on dry lips, A cold evening, guitar strapped behind, All explained, there a delighted quiet time

  • Amuse: December Cold, The Hill, and Two Foxes

    December Cold Once upon a cold night, Trees knew little peace When a strong wind swept by, Slippery was the grassy pathways Leading to the small village But many won’t risk it outside For the wind was growing to a storm “What do you make of this cold?” A grey-furred rabbit broke the silence His…

  • Love Poem: Remind me of the sun

    Your pretty face reminds me of the sun, When she rose from the back of many hills Dragging her gold blanket before farms So if I am to paint this beautiful muse I would imagine sunrise over wheat fields And fast approaching evening when birds fly home

  • Love poem: Tumbleweeds by Tracy Windisch-Mason

    tumbleweeds I send Love is a waterfall with A river behind come back to me in the end

  • Video: What Is Life By Schneider Dean

    Gratitude is Life Every morning we wake up to the greatest gift we have: the gift of Life. Every living being on this beautiful planet, including you and me, is blessed with life. Life is a limited period we have been given on this planet to find and fulfill our purpose. The funny thing is…