Oke’s Musings: Poetry, People and Places

Author: Oke Iroegbu

  • Muse: Strings of Love

    Will you know true quietness when you see one? Sure, I have heard the Pines sing a decade old song I have felt the touch of Agape’s own hands on my soul, I have watched as the waters rushed thru the stream And I have listened to my heart play strings of love * Your…

  • Muse: The Storm

    When the clouds turned greyish black with the ending day, What we didn’t notice was that the night came with a price And the price was a storm which we were unprepared for We dined, we enjoyed the sweet airs that the breezy night brought But when the first crack came; it was a shocker…

  • Another Tale of the WildWoods

    i Once upon a time, the night was cold and the snow lay thick on branches, On the forest lands, the road and the pathways leading to the village The cold gripped the whole community of fauna and flourishing flora, As the day ended, the night became alive with howls, hoots and screeches ii The…

  • Ina murna (I’m excited) 

    The snaky road twisted, here and there Passing pockets of forests tucked away, And when it ended at the foot of Ugwu Uwaoma I saw the palm trees lead a welcome song At the foot of the hill a banner hung Bearing Mama’s poster and details… *** Now I stand before thee, oh great hill…

  • Call me Summer 

    Call me summer; my days are sunny and hot,  And in the forage you shall find, sweet fruits riped.  I give tastes of fresh salmon cooked in coconut oil And a drink of wine to toast to the mild island heat  * Call me summer for I plait the hairs of the palm trees I…

  • The rainfall

    i.  See the rain drops fall,  Throwing a rain party for all!  The clouds wailed this evening But to the children it was fun ii.  Under the rain, children danced Enjoying the freedom that it brought  Lightning shadows on windows, mild cold But men hid themselves under the blankets iii.  The clouds sang, the wind…

  • Tales from the Giraffe

    Oh lovely tower! You stand above roofs and trees And graze on the wild Savannah You nibble at fresh tree leaves,  And the whole land is yours!  You visit our streams, majestically You stray through the quiet village And stole all attention to yourself  * Nights are for the folk tales,  Stories groomed in the…

  • Flying to summer 

    There’s a symphony of joy!  Roaring up the bright skies,  Emissaries of the aging day Graceful flights to Africa!  * Floating above the countryside  Leaving the fresh, green fields Above the endless forests Keeping hope ahead * Each journey is an unknown promise,  Somewhere between joy and heartache.  But they must fly, the fair geese…

  • Death of a masquerade

    When the cocks wake the clan in the morn with their calls I remember you, your memories are like my room walls  First, I must congratulate you for not dying completely  For telling us why we must abandon the village for the city,  For leaving the clans people with only strands of what you did, …

  • Musing:  The Railroad 

    Iron metal Crisscrossing  Dragging through the dust Like the snake, iron snake.  Tracks lay ahead as far as our eyes go,  Crawling through the urban and rural;  The countryside with her quiet forest  The township with her hustle bustle  The clouds are free of you They watch your snake lanes Cockroach through rocks and tunnels…

  • The Legend of Wawadomea

    Verse 2: Cannibals of the East 2 The sunset drew a picture Which had lived with me For all my younger life A strange uproar heartfelt It was aye, very strange That aye, I mean I Will be amongst this lot This people forsaken kind of clan Living the life of a sea pirate Out…

  • Folktale: The Animal King

    Gather now; come closer Warm your hands, sit near the fire It is a cold evening. I have a folktale for you, And I hope it prepares everyone for a good sleep. Ifochakpi! Waa!! Once upon a time In a land far away Across seven rivers And seven hills Lived a clan of animals Then…

  • The Pathway

    Maybe I am lost, lost in the quiet Plantain forest Following a trail of leaves, to a place where I know not Maybe I am found, searching for my way to the top Walking hopefully to a place where better tree ropes drop * Maybe the path led to the dreaded Crocodile river Or to…

  • Folk: Under the Mango tree

    1 Breezes and dreams are gifts of Nature to the hardworking villagers,  After a days heavy toil in the fields of corn, yam and sweet cassava The men gather to drink the palm wine in the inn located by the mango tree,  Heavy talks lead to soft talks as the beer sank into the days…

  • Three musings:  Evening, wet Earth and Love

    One: The evening tide Fast falls the evening tide So gather around the fireside, Let us savor this taste of Nature;  Her soft songs, breezes and lecture Two: The wet Earth The sun set before our eyes The wet earth is left to dry For the days heavy rain has left And with her, all…

  • I Dream

    I dream Of you You I knew not…  1 I see the smoke mold your face,  I feel your fingers pull my face softly away To the sight where rivers met and fought I feel the breeze whisper your names,  Excitement won’t let me keep memory of it And when I look up, it was…

  • Natures Tale: The Sun rays

    * Take a walk in the woods,  Dive into the envelope of tall tree branches Admire the tents that Nature erected Savor the teasing of fresh airs And watch the sun rays streak through the tree leaves 1 The canopy hides the shrieks and tweets  Of birds and rodents  Creepy amphibians croak out their hearts…

  • Joy

    Your song echo’s in my mind Cascading into soft musings Dancing in my heart,  I stare without words But my hands tap away with joy

  • Dead ivory 

    First it was horror,  Watching a breath simmer quietly away Staring at the sight that her memory must stay And then, then the full reality sets in Today the useless tusk must rot with the carcass The body a meal to billions of worms, But the body and tusk, both are gone, wasted  Tears are…

  • Evening Storm

    Now the wind has come to announce the rains coming,  Baskets flew up, rooftops shrieked, dogs ran about And the community waited, for a storm was growing,  The nights grew darker, pitch like the face of charcoal At first, the moon had disappeared without trace The clouds forming a strong ring of bully about him…

  • When there was love

    When there was love, I saw the cloud Clear as crystal, like the sweet spring Leaping in joyful haste to other lands,  Oh happy water, hissing away, joyfully Tumbling off rocks, falling from heights * Now I sit musing over the fast flowing stream Two things wont ever come back, water and time! 

  • Bamboo house

    You have given us shelter and warmth,  You have given us memories  And reasons to smile…  * When sons of men laughed at your appearance then Those wild boys threw stones and the earth pots broke,  We hid in you at first afraid but later mocked their fruitless fight,  But you, you stood bold and…

  • Set my sail

    1 I set my sail to your heart dearest gold I hope to sail till my strong hands grow old,  To lands where the flower nectars bust And we glad that the blue ocean sail with us 2 I set my sail to your dream, my puppet I hope to dance with you as the…

  • Tradition: The African beer

    But there is one taste that Africa is known for,  This natural liquid drawn from the palm Sweet as the taste of sleep after a hard days labor Whitish, an admired mess for the tired old and young Mmanya, the older men’s African honey The drink for all, Natures perfect brew Now we drink to…

  • Musing:  Stressful Days

    1 Stressful days take away the joy in my evening meals With back aches and a weakened body I struggle to feed When the day is spent and my thoughts long for my needs,  The stress will then set in; feverish and broken feelings 2 Before this noon, I have had some tea and milk…

  • The Sea 

    #i The soft waves wash those shores,  Flying fishing birds, cry up in the skies And dancing algae surfed the waters All defining the exotic blues visible #ii But what do we know about the depths,  What is beyond the sands of the beach?  For when the sun shine, all glittered But the waters danced…

  • Amuse: The sunset 

    Sometimes I do think the sun was angry when she was hot People hide underneath the tree branches, some throw down mats And in few minutes they snore out there fatigue without remorse They blow trumpets, letting their mouths wobble in defeat Yet I wonder if by chance the suns heat was responsible,  As her…

  • Family

    1 Family is love, family is the birth place of love It is a wake of faces; staring, admiring, loving A bed were we fight with pillows some times And a glimpse of hope in the darkest of nights 2 Family is that look through the eye of a loved one Family is the noise…

  • Sunrise up the Forestlands 

  • Folklore: Let’s play under the Moon light

    I.  Breezes of your presence come to me each evening, with mild rosy fragrance  The voice of the wind sing with you when you sang of the Nightingale and her lover  And now it is our tryst, one we waited upon, the one we craved when the sun was here II.  Now we make haste,…

  • Once upon a time… 

    Once upon a time you preferred the silence to my love Then trees leaves fell, they fall quietly and so you went Once I held your hands in deep love and we walked the paths,  And you told of our future but now you will not see me anymore We played together, you were my…

  • Musing: Observing you

    I look upon your face, it shone in the night moon light In the darkness, where many bodies shuffled about Dancing, drinking, talking, calling, shouting, but I only heard you But will you let this light you bring shine in my heart, will you?  The fine curve of your pouting mouth make me weak When…

  • A Note: Welcome to January, 2018

    Please welcome to a brand new year! It’s 7.20AM here as I write. Last year has been a blessing in my journey of the pen, I believe strongly this year will be much better.  I hope your dreams and aspirations come thru this year. I hope we all have reasons to celebrate. 

  • A tale of the Christmas Eve

    1 Once upon a time, it was evening and very cold one For the Ice king was out, on his stroll thru his kingdom And the Snow witch heralded his welcome; flying before him Hanging up on trees, weighing down tree branches Making even huge trees to come crashing down And painting the whole forest…

  • Lullaby: Decembers’ rain

    Fast falls the evening, mild breezes, cold rain, rinsing the dusty roof tops Dark clouds shadow the moon, the evening is left to wander alone,  Trees bow to the swift wind; bending, twisting; left and right But the night was agog with life, the breezes an excuse for heavy sleepers A week before the heat…

  • The call of the Stream: tributary of the crocodile river

    1. Now I stand before you, great stream You tributary of the crocodile river Flowing from the hills, where no man knows To our gardens, where beautiful roses grow 2. I stand before you, Gods own living sculpture Carved off dust and loam, points of rocks With fine white waters falling from your top As…

  • The Mountain

    1 Oh beautiful sculpture Standing proud above the hamlet, Above the hills and valleys, Above whole rivers and rivulets Oh Gods creative masterpiece Drawing up grasslands and forests Painting greens and greys together Viewing fine pasture and hot deserts Oh great traditional edifice The guardian of our little hamlet, Protector of our flora and fauna…

  • Musing: The Ostrich

    1 To you my feathery friend, I write In the greying fields, your fur I sight Dangling by your sides are your wings Your neck is up, for a long time you sing 2 Caw caw, caw caw those are your favorite words The wind is your friend, the soil is your playground The shrub…

  • December Tides

    1 Tasty for the spoils of the dry month, we are Dry air, dry waterhole, dry lips, dry paper Moisture lost to the heat of the traveling sun But our feet has got many options, wait or run And today the breeze drives the wind to us We savor, we enjoy, to you emissary we…

  • December, once again

    Dry airs are your best emissaries They send fine dust flying into our eyes,  And some minute debris thru the window curtains Heralding your descent, welcome O December!  By the corner, under the trees shed We gather to feel your fresh breeze,  Feeling the tree leaves dance happily Tumbling they went, falling with joy The…

  • Psalm: A poem of Love

    I’m writing a poem for You,  From when the golden sun rise To when her rays go in the evening I will tell how much I love You How You made my future bright For when the night rains are blowing You were my shield and comfort  I will paint Your grace on poetry I…

  • The Tomato’s tale

    And today I met this round twins and sumptuous looking tomato fruit By the side of the garden the plant grew, I haven’t noticed it till now 1. Hanging down from her stalk hopelessly like her weight was the plants burden Where the ants made an abode, in and out they traversed without care And hers…

  • Musing of a Lover

    I have thrown caution to the wind, and when I looked back I caught you staring Your smiles warm my heart as the suns mildness upon the Earth on summertime The birds sing on the branches outside, to me it is a welcome song of you and your voice The grasses around the Rose flower…

  • When I love… 

    I have fallen deep in love with you Yes, it is not even wild to tell the world  Wink at me, when am lost staring at you For with my love, you can be rest assured You have given me the taste of honey The days run by, your smile my best Your lips, the one…

  • The path to Harvest

    Joy is the fruit blossomed in the heart of the farmer His smiles are meshed with the days toil and sweat Patches of brown earth possess a part of his tired face On his shoulders he carries a huge basket with some tools And now it is harvest time…   Now the fields are ripe,…

  • The Rainbow, 1st

    1 The rainbow is my favorite color  Her beauty radiates upon the cloud Dressed like a man wearing a talisman Savoring the scent of the sweet airs,  A mirage because the rain won’t fall after all 2 There sits the rainbow across the firmaments Watching quietly, observing the rules of the airs Belittling the heights of…

  • My muse: Rejoice

    My heart rejoices, but why I can not say!  The sun has risen, the land is golden The firmaments are bright, blue and grey Dews melt, trees dance, flowers open I rejoice for the lights which has come For the love which I see all about me For the little fine hamlet I call home…

  • Love Poems: My musing 

    See my musing for you, my Gold My heart goes to you my lovely one I whisper your name to the clouds From where the nights are born Your love is like the sweet grape wine It tastes as much as the kiss you gave For on your mild acquaintance, we dine Our tryst- out…

  • September,  the 14th

    Let the strength of the eagle be given to you Let the might of the elephant adorn your steps  Let today be another winner to you And your life more bright colors adorned Birthdays are rare They come once in a year Happy birthday Charles Iroegbu…  I wish you Divine Blessings all round. 

  • Natures Image

    Nature, glad tidings Joint tryst of flora and firmament Aging with time, the waters tide rise and fall Green is the color of the small forest shedding the sea Come to the deep, blue surf, dolphin and seals fine paradise Nature paints amazing images from the valley to the hills From the forests to desert…