Oke’s Musings: Poetry, People and Places

Author: Oke Iroegbu

  • Memories built on You

    All my memories build on You Your Goodness and Love for me In the morning, You came as dew And the evenings, the Nightingales sing for me! *** Commentary: It is morning in Nigeria. Each morning is hopefully a new start. So be thankful for the life you have. I hope everyone is good. Forgive…

  • The Travelers Tale

    Traveling out of the city to find some solace, Passing through forests and undulating hills, And through grasslands and indigenous settlements To the countryside, where exists true connection, The ever green forests stretched out with the curvy roads Guiding the driver, who seemed to be awed by the scenery Up the skies, hawks scaled the…

  • Palm wine

    Have you tasted the palm wine? It is mother Nature’s own brew A combined effort of yeast and man Trained in the early morning dew If you ever come to West Africa Do not let the landscape fool you Look to the quiet traditional bars And enjoy a bottle or two

  • My Shoes (They fit me alone) by Franklin Onuoha

    Take a look at my life What can you say about me? You know just a little But you feign omniscient You care less about yourself But you put all focus on me Do you really think You can love me more than me? You hear rumours that ain’t true You spread it like bird…

  • What Love can do

    1 Corinthians 13 : 4 – 8 1 Taste and see Love never hurts If you agree with me Then love is all we got 2 Love is golden, So truly yours Brings joy to one When you let her soar 3 Love forgives all It paints different colors It mildly heals And turns around…

  • Crowns

    Crowns, kings and queens, Great men and women Purple with royalty, With greater authority Over greying cities And Nature’s dying beauties Can we crown a Daffodil And close all carbon deals? Can we plant forests In our modern cities? Can we let the fragrance of roses Cling to the corners of our buildings? Crowns, kings…

  • You can win

    1 You can win Don’t listen- To naysayers For you journey alone 2 You can win Look within Find what matters, And believe in yourself 3 You can win Of course you can Trust in Jehovah And let His peace guide you *** Commentary: Feeling down? Cheer up. You are far better than billions of…

  • Happy birthday to me

    8-8-8* A happy birthday to me!

  • Let’s dance in the Rain

    Let’s dance in the rain Throw me a handful Catch my water blow And throw me another Let’s play under the rain, Hides and seek Catch the rain drops And take your trophies!

  • Share my Dream

    You shared my dreams For when I put my pen to a paper You were always there To turn my wishes to reality And all these while you stood by me Now, what more can I pray for? That I remain steadfast in your love

  • Cheerful Friends

    Cheerful friends are much more, They contribute to our happiness And joy through their benevolence Memories of their actions Bring warm feelings and always soft, So we feel secure with their thoughts Cheerful friends are like young tendrils They grow with love and are selfless Even in one’s grief, they bond to purchase When our…

  • Fatigue

    Fatigue, I wonder why your name Is as you, Why you stress and bother me Even without an offense I wonder why you break my bones So that I may only feel limp And sit watching the hours fly by You tickle my nose, to mildly snore And breathed on me a heavy sleep

  • Muse: To the end of the Day

    Towards the end of the day I shall lay my head on your thighs To behold the glittering stars

  • Introducing the African Folklore

    Folklore are tales, legends, superstitions of a particular ethnic population. In Igbo and other African societies, story telling is unique, such that it is a passage to transmit the culture and tradition from one generation to another. These tales generally convey the history, messages and old knowledge. They are meant to teach morals and virtues…

  • Atmosphere of Love

    Love can not be felt When there is strife, When the moods tell foul Love can not be felt When the sails are low Or the winds are hot Love can not be felt When egos are high When words are faint Love is a great virtue That requires selflessness Courage and understanding

  • Greatness

    Greatness is not a virtue of wealth Nor beauty, nor fame Greatness lies in courage, in faith In change, to become With experience, wise Honest and compassionate

  • Rising Sun

    1 I peered through my window pane The morning sun rose radiantly And from a distant plane A smile appeared so glowingly 2 Alas the golden sun arrives trifle shy With the clouds she sailed Growing above the valleys and heights And upon all who on Earth dwelled *** Commentary: This piece is a collaboration…

  • Tradition: Breaking the Igbo Kola nut 2 (Iwa oji Igbo)

    Onye wetara oji, wetara ndu. Ndi be anyi ekelem unu oo. God, our tryst maker! Chinekem ke b’nigwe! One that holds the Earth with bare hands And causes the winds to soar where You wills My God, we have gathered once again to celebrate To enjoy the life which you have blessed us with! Nna…

  • Muse: The rains and wet clay

    The smell of clay when wet Brings the feeling of life When heavy rains come The community is overjoyed And so the dry earth wakes With it, life becomes excited! The clouds turn dark As the rain grow stronger- With a great storm imminent The rain drops gather, Tripping happily into the big pots

  • Lust

    1 Eyes brought low From the distance, Watched her go Steady glance Cutting through her And she was not aware 2 Cage your emotion Let love flow Desire, genuine Let it grow Like a tree planted By the poolside

  • Nnem (My Mother)

    Nnem oma, my sweet mother My best friend! Onyem, m ji eme onu Daada! Thinking of you Gives me great joy! My first love, my creator! Ina enyem obi anuri, Ina akasim obi, I can not quantify this joy You are my blessing Nkechinyerem! Learn Igbo language here. *** Commentary: I think everyone should be…

  • Muse: Piece of me

    I give you a piece of me To share in my personal joy, To share in my stories and tales I give you my time To prove how valuable you are, To record each second we live I give you a piece of me To prove to you how much I care, And how your…

  • In the Beginning

    In the beginning God made man So that we could make poetry To teach and talk to our souls

  • Love enough for me

    Glittering, You shone in the sun That is love enough for me

  • You hold the Winds

    You hold the Winds In Your great hands! For from away we see her toil As she sail above grass and soil With swift sweet airs she bless Earth that is brown and the green grass Heavenly airs bless each new day When we kneel to pray

  • Morning sun

    Spreading her white net, Morning wakes to her duties Gathering fresh scent From flowers and dew She casts upon the clouds Heavenly paintings A creation, perfect and mild One gift given to man

  • Global warming

    Now if I have traveled with the wind And seen some parts of the world I would stop at warring cities to preach peace Stand under the tree to watch leaves fall quietly And there to hold hands that sink with pain Bring every shelter I may find so that love may gain On the…

  • A Tale of the Wild Woods: Cold world

    When the last winter snow melted Several things had changed The tree leaves had less dew And the tree roots hid in the sand The skies were dark blue, Drawing images of floating clouds Few birds came sailing through the sky Larks, Swallows, Parrots and Cuckoos Danced in the clear skies And from the mist,…

  • End of the day

    Fast falls the evening tide Birds fly home With the clouds they went Traveling with the setting sun Airy winds bring nostalgia Birds call to one another Enjoying the day end Scent of wet clay Mixed with rotten veggies Fill the market square Home calls darlin’ And to you I return

  • Mirror

    Look through me See the glitter, On my face Feel the curves Of my ruddy face Let my gaze Be your mirror For all I think I’m not my skin

  • Gather the Harvest

    Throw the harvest to the air Catch the tumbling beans Let the wind take the chaff Break the nuts Gather the hops Let the sun bake them And in the morning Brew an African beer!

  • Moonlight

    Spherical white gold With memories impressed, Up the dark skies Riding on the clouds And sometimes to stand To light the woods, And the vales and heights Creating bold- Caricatures of trees, Images of the land The moon light Gives illumination To the world at night So the clouds may glow white

  • Knowledge

    I search through stacks of books Panting, tired, worried I wait for the rising sun, Riding across the skies To give some heat, some inspiration But yet it was elusive Seeming to change With each new day For when the sun came It brought news of it And before now in my search I created…

  • Muse: I am hu-man

    I was not carved from stone I am not a sculpture Or painting of any kind I live in a civilized culture I eat much food And live in a town I dream of the woods I dance when no one is watching And I may be different from you I may see things differently…

  • Muse: Green

    Nature’s blood Blooming Life’s culture Sweet airs And a host of pretty views Trees- Oxygen tanks Green is man’s hope If he desire not to end up swinging from a rope

  • Ubochi taa (Today) : Igbo Love poem (Abu ihunanya)

    Ubochi taa Anam ede nke a I gwa gi otu ubochim siri ga I maram ka onye na achi aturu Marakwa na enweghim ihe niile ichoro Ubochi niile anam akpahara ohia Na acho ihe aturum ga eri I mara na enweghi ihe na enyem Obi uto karia ndu mkpachara anya O bu nke a kam…

  • Life is green

    Life is green She goes beyond the hustle bustle Of towns Of great machines Life is the flock Grazing Gracefully Away from human want

  • Muse: I wonder

    I wonder why we pleasure in strife Why we derive joy in profits In expense of the dying earth And why we must sell weapons To cause more sorrow and pain *** We chose paths of darkness and destruction Even as Nature tries to guide us right Now the greedy may sit at costly parks…

  • Zingina

    Zingina, this song is for you The pretty young maid You that sets our village on fire, Fire of desire and lust You whose dance paint many pictures On the minds of hungry men The village square is your stage And when the drums go beating You throw your arms up the sky, Twist your…

  • Muse: Cymbals

    I fail when I break your rule Be rest assured I still love you For even when the sound of drums and bass guitars go faint Your peaceful cymbals still play down the sorrow in my heart

  • Harvest season

    Here at the close of the day Everyone comes to the hay To dance and clap To behold the golden wheat And grains waiting for the whip The fields are littered with baskets Occasionally the clouds grumble To remind the folk of the rainy season And in the evening wind, baskets tumble Exposing the grains…

  • Waterfalls

    Listen to Nature sing from the waterfalls, She thrashes her garments upon the rocks And wash them with very soft palms She sends soft waters crashing into the pool Watching the blue skies as her fingers work When the waters descend they form Curtains of white mist And when the waters touch the pool below…

  • Summer

    Summer rides through the little forest, Desiring to warm and wake every creature It saved in the heart of trees that flourish On the tarred roadside, a sweet aura of air That kept both faun and flora intrigued! ** Image by David Thomas Martins, a friend and a great painter poet.

  • Muse: Nature’s Art

    Night rains are ways mother Nature tell her wonderful stories From the curtains dance one can feel the strength of the rain And the routes of her accomplice; the wind Further away from homes, if you dare to look One can see the wind dressing the trees hairs Decorating the trees with every piece of…

  • The Messengers Gong

    Kororom! Kokokorom!! Korokorokom!!! The gong went off, disturbing the peace of the hamlet A strange silence descends as the rhythm died down The evening was cold, sweet breeze from the big river Made the hamlet cozy and sometimes snores rent the air Stubborn children turn good For their parents had threatened To report them to…

  • Musing: Traveler

    By the foot of the hills he stood to look back Waving to images, thin from the long distance I was among those thin images that stood afar Watching as he disappeared from our glance He had left stories in our mouths and hearts Taught us that we must leave the quiet village, To learn…

  • Remember me

    I remember your stories Of bombs and guns Of decimated hills and homes And broken dreams and destinies! I remember the thunder that broke backs That tore the roof off our homes And brought hardship upon babies I remember you the victor Who took our children And made them men, Men which became slaves And…

  • King David

    Ruddy And with palms strained from playing The guitar He walks home with the happy flock Gentle was his walk Joyful was his apparition So he recalled his adventures The songs he sang under the Sycamore The bear he expelled And the lion he killed Diligently he led the sheep Guiding them Without knowledge of…

  • Muse: Humble Home

    Even when the sun set far away from you It gives me joy to remember my humble home *** There’s a place in my mind where my eyes desire, Where my heart rejoice when I behold her beauty The mornings bring abundant joy to me And the evening is a delight I long for Sometimes…

  • Two poems: You remind me and the Owl

    You remind me You remind me of the sunshine Dimples on your face like the half sun Surface when you smile You have become my pretty sunshine The one whose face reminds me of the sun * The Owl Dark nights are your playground. You steal through the quietness Striking the air with great talons…