Oke’s Musings: Poetry, People and Places

Author: Oke Iroegbu

  • Poetale: The Musk Rat

    Prologue: There was this tale my old granny told the children She will always say “Listen my children, listen.” And we; little, full of curiosity will look up patiently Then it was usual before each tale to play about In the strong moon light which swept the garden In between the plays, we wrestled and…

  • Smiley

    I like you to blow out laughing Turn around and see me make a face I like to see you smile The pains in my heart go soothed away I want to see the curves of your mouth dance to the lyrics of my daydream But call me names if you would Call me the…

  • Beauty and Beautiful

    Ecstacy is beauty It is a feeling formed to feel A scent, a wish, a moment A flower, a dinner, a kiss maybe Which undescribable, won’t stay For it is just a sweet mirage Like a fine deer on the forest, In the quiet hunting season The deer ate thru yellow hay And when the…

  • Let the World Sing…

    Let the world fall before Thee, The One who rule the Earth and the Sea And drags the wind like as a child will his toy The plants You let germinate on the grey soil With Your great hand You made man in Your image And yet You made the fullness of the Earth man’s…

  • Myrrh: A song of Oke Iroegbu

    I want to sing of the butterfly That roam the green garden Happily she glide with the air Watching the sun shine in the noon And waiting to fly to other lands Where the sunflower glows when the sun shine I want to sing of undying hope The harbinger of light, smokeless Like an infinite…

  • Poetale: Three Memories

    Okay I recall vividly when I was younger and I wore skirts cos I forgot to get some trousers for the long holidays and I traveled to place where I couldnt get trousers or shorts. Then I played with other kids wearing skirts like the Scottish, just that I had no pipe to play. I…

  • The Zoo

    Sunny, lazy Sometimes muddy Full of weary trees Tree stumps And overlapping tree branches The green and brown mix, Part of the enclosures. Quiet in the noon In the heat of the day And the hustle of survival The streams are green with mold And the pathways are sticky with mud But the fun of…

  • The Nomad

    As the twilight came I took a walk for some air And down the roadside I went There stood a young man Bearded heavily like myself Throwing corn seeds into his mouth And grinding them with such relish That his brown teeth showed in the process He stood by our fence And I decided to…

  • Breezy Evening

    This evening is quite exceptional No stars, no fireflies, no light No torch, just a quiet darkness And a sweet surge of sweet wind The clouds are dark and light And upon it the lightning flash Now and then, sparks of white Stray through the firmaments Raindrops fall slowly, quietly She seem to travel light…

  • The song of a Methodist

    Our job is to praise You Bring down Your glory The trees bow before You Your works are Beauty The wind is Your messenger The clouds like a fog to You Nothing compares to Your power Nothing is greater than You Little is the whole Universe to You Decorated with fine firmaments You make the…

  • The Commonwealth Annual Short Story Competition 2017

    The Commonwealth Annual Short Story Competition call for submissions. We’re delighted to let you know that the 2017 Commonwealth Short Story Prize is now open for entries. The closing date is 1 November 2016. The prize is for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000-5,000 words) in English; regional winners receive £2,500 and the…

  • Amuse: A High School Certificate

    Now I return to my hamlet With a high school certificate From the Government College And to the amazement of my people And welcoming of the King himself! I march down with my long socks And my pants which is torn everywhere As the crowd sang me a victory song Even the Kings daughter herself…

  • Tale: The Animal King: Confusion and Disunity

    Gather now… Come closer Warm your hands, sit near the fire It is a cold evening, is it? Now pay attention to this poetale I hope it helps warm you up And trust it prepares you for a fine sleep   Once upon a time In a land far away Across seven rivers And seven…

  • A Poetale: Night and the Wind

    Flirty Breezy wind of the south Woo my candle light Which danced like a mad man She paint the wall With the silhoutte of the light Drawing pictures of many objects Showing a magnified view of shapes Scary and gigantic. Titanic! The curtains are thrown up At each blast from the wind And her underwears…

  • A muse: And Today I am Human First!

    1. ”Do you know why people miss it a lot? We love things and not people We love money and not someone We love machines and gadgets And will give those our time and concern While the world dies from human pain and poverty The world dies from neglect and carelessness So much machines are…

  • Arise in the morning, with commentary

    Morning is breaking, So is the sun upon the horizon On a day many will till And many will waste still The clouds grow and spread A blue apparition they made With scupltures on the wind And strange painting on the cloud The waking day beckons to all To everyone to work… Arise when it…

  • African Tradition: Calling upon the African rain storm

    ‘The land is hungry, so are my words… Let’s make it rain… Let’s flood the dry earth and let the ink flow again!’ Now I seek to hear the sound of the rain fall Yes let it rumble through the clouds Like the stomach of a child about to purge The vegetations here attest to…

  • Ogbor Hill

    She sprawled across the breadth of the land. She lay humbly Like someone listening to the Ocarina of time Wasting away to carefree and careless governments Losing the charm it was once known for And settling for lesser things and lesser people Ogbor hills abbatoirs lay with blood of sheep, pigs and cattle The river…

  • it’s about to rain

    Now here goes the first rain and wind storm of September… And it came like a quarel Throwing punches Holding each others throat and Blowing thru their fury noses On their path, they throw fine sand around Pulling the weak rooftops about Now the clouds blacken with each provocation The rain beat down like pellets…

  • I wish

    I wish I could smile forever Sometimes it does not come so I wish I was to pick comely flowers Out in the fields where grain grow I wish I could help the dying world Though it seems some wish otherwise I wish the nights are free of the cruel cold For those who have…

  • A muse: The Eclipse

    Today I woke hopeful Thinking about yesterdays news It is already past the hour And there is no eclipse here Hmmm… Maybe it is happening Somewhere, Vancouver or Siberia But here it seem like a saturday Not much traffic of people like before I told a friend of mine about this And she asked… ‘What…

  • Fly High September

    How time flies Memories fade too But wear a smile And always be good Sing a song Hum a tune Dance along Share a Coke The days turn to weeks The weeks to months And the future we seek But stay in Divine soothe The grace of God blesses It is a wonder And from…

  • August night poems

    THE NIGHT The night is full of fresh air One which come with the wind Talking of the Wind, she is irresistable Sweetly, comely to the flesh of men And a quick aid to the lullaby’s effort RAIN It seem it will pour heavily, sometime later For the Lightning had come to snap pictures Of…

  • Cold Rain in Uyo

    There was a rush of rainfall on the window side Accompanied by a burst of cold wind Which ate deep into the flesh of careless people And caught people in between the crossfire Of the cold wind and the torrential rain There was no ceasefire, whatsoever. No peace, no victor Just calm disaster. One accustomed…

  • A muse: Love

    Days pass to weeks weeks to months Roses grow to shrubs from greens to oranges The dawn to dusk path of life is made so; seasons come and go so do memories When it shines we remember the rain when it storms we remember the sun Nothing is absolute nothing will be perfect without love…

  • The Glass Wall, and a commentary on friendship

    The angered throw stones at the glass wall He shouts and curses, He yells and he faints But the glass wall sits and watches… Rain fall, the sun beat the weathered glass The smear of mud from passing vehicles, the sweat of palms … But the glass wall sits unperturbed The stain of ages passing…

  • Paper Poetry

    Shake off the fatigue The world waits to meet you The world waits to celebrate you Look beyond the dark skies Look beyond your heights Look beyond the rain and storm Look beyond the past dreams Hit the weakly cocoon Break the walls open Fly butterfly, fly away Never hesitate on your flight to glory…

  • African Inspiration

    I see inspiration. In our conversation, In the mornings we talk My pen grow fruitful Your memories take me places, to the peaks of African ranges and where the lion cubs stay I see the future Bright and blue, the clouds crystal clear Like spring water rushing in haste To other lands where the sun…

  • A Dying World

    Dear Diary there is too much pain in the world I do not believe everyone is evil, no In the midst of the crowd, there are very good people but they are very quiet and maybe scared they let the sick and evil ones destroy the world the world grows sick with each passing day…

  • Lullaby: African Good Night

    Have you ever been on the pathway to sleep And all you could see was circles spiralling twisting and falling like mild paintings on the wall? Strange as it seem… The queer songs of the night come alife the sweet tune of the frog choir across the road where the rain water log… And the…

  • Darkness falls

    Darkness falls… The cries of night wolves and wild dogs Rent the airs far away deep in the forest The wind grew milder, the moon light brighter And the sweet lullabies ring out from homes A tradition, one which the little ones adore The evening simmer into a deep darkness As the African tales went…

  • Poetale: Drought Land, songs of Reality

    There was a land, somewhere in Africa Where the rain won’t come for a long time The people are lean from walking distances In search of streams or rivers But sometimes they get no water For Crocodiles lived in those rivers And they were always hungry, always! So the men went with local guns While…

  • A little Faith

    Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God …1st John 5.5 Here comes lines of cheer and wit Grown from experiences, from the heart A rule of success, everything perfect An elixir of healing for all round health A beacon to help a man…

  • Okechukwu’s Haiku

    The night came and went, but we are awake to Gods call Though the night brought darkness and bricks of wall To everyone, men and women, great or small Yet the love of God wakes with us to perfect us all Good morning from Africa!

  • Fallacy of love

    Dear Diary… When two hands merge, they stick together Lending, caring, hoping and loving The stream of cord bonding both Strictly fight for their loves survival Distractions sprout up the root of the creeping weed Tearing apart the bond that once lived happily I crave for some fresh air in the open I love to…

  • The Wind

    There was heavy wind, swooshing about Just behind the hut where the pots lay Now it surged. Paused, Sudden… Play The wooden doors creak restlessly Like horses surround’d by wild dogs Near the bush, the wind whipp’d tree logs The sweet fragrance of other houses came The stench of the sewages woke up And roofs…

  • The Village chief

    There was a chief in the wild plains, A warrior and a leader of the clan He fought in the war of the White men And returned a warrior of other lands ” Igwe! Igwe o!! Igwe i ga adigide!”* The men of the clan always hailed him For he desired peoples praise than honor…

  • Clouds; Rain and Sunshine

    Have you thought of the Cloud, Of her dilemma with the Sun and Rain? Why the rain fall heavily or faintly Why it is gloomy and why it shines? RAIN: The wind fly mildly across the horizon Up the skies, were the birds watch men And the Sun with her warm heat shine Sometimes the…

  • Lullaby: A tale of the cold night

    Once upon a time… It was a night of bitter cold And snowy storms gathered, The weight of snow lay thick Upon tree leaves and branches The slopes wore a sore face For the ice cold winter air Was so cruel to the night The little lake was half frozen And the ducks flew away…

  • The Shepherds Tale

    The day ends with a big stress for David But to him, this was not any challenge As he walked thru the hamlet, near an inn, ‘Hello David! Come have a drink with men, Come and have some fun , will ya?’ A soldier yelled as David passed by ‘Oh no sire, I will be…

  • Love note

    This is for you my dearest… There are twists and turns on the way Hills and valleys Darkness and light, But love, true love surpasses any hindrance or fear I do not dance very well, I might not sing so well But I can love you in many ways We can ride the Lions back,…

  • Lions and Lionesses

    Lions could be cute and cuddly, But only without their teeth and claws! They prowl the thick vegetations of Africa And plains of South Asia… With their manes as crowns They rule the African jungle They roar from afar… And all tenants of the wild; Deer, Elephant, Boar, Zebra Wake to listen! In the night,…

  • When the rains go

    The ponds will go dry As the rains slowly go, And the clouds very shy For she will have none to woo When the rains go to other lands She carries her entourage of wind, Throw into childrens eyes fine sand And leave a handsome wreck behind The weather grows hot in the evenings And…

  • The Palm Tree

    I wonder why it is called a tree Yet she is dressed like a masquerade With thorny arms raised to deliver a blow And fins to wade thru a turbulent storm Dangerous as she looks, She is quietly harmless Swerving from one wind to another She enjoy the attention of the airs When there is…

  • Bulie Dikem: Abu Ekele nke sitere n’aka Oke’ Iroegbu

    Bulie dikem! Eze ndi eze niile Chukwu nnam Aka m di n’elu, Chi oma m Onye ike niile di n’aka Unu kporo ya isi n’ala Nani gi bu chi di ndu Kedu ihe madu bu Ma o buru na, ime ghi ya otu? Anam enya gi ekele Ndi Igbo kwenu, kelenu Chineke N’ihi rue mgbe…

  • Gods Love Endures: A Happy Birthday to me

    ”…Goodness and mercy shall follow me, all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the House of the Lord for ever and ever, amen.” From the rising to the setting sun Gods love endures forever and ever In the warm summer or cold winter And by His Grace we are winners! Let…

  • Nursery Rhyme: The Bamboo by Oke’ Iroegbu

    Bamboo, Oh Bamboo Take a look at you! You are very tall and mild With stems, severely strong And leaves straight and long Bamboo, Oh Bamboo The favorite Panda’s chew You blossom upon the waterside Spreading your branches like a canopy Over everyone in the small community Bamboo, Oh Bamboo Your greens stay hidden in…

  • …To memories

    Now I smile back to my paper smileys Re-living my hopeful memories Life sometimes may seem confusing, But you just have to smile and live on And on my books I draw for myself happy faces The memories of pain or joy; Are part of human existence Why is there love and hate, Why is…

  • Nene: African woman

    1. The braids on your hair Is typical of the African woman Black and totally natural. Nicely fit Pulling back your cheek bones Into the hair… Like a young gazelles face. Your nose is like the fine basket When you breath, it is a wonder And it seems you walk on flowers 2. When you…

  • At the countryside

    The scent of travelling delights me To lands I have been or haven’t seen But it is more desiring to go somewhere, Quiet, natural and homely- Nothing compares to this ideology The smell of gasoline and burnt tires Is now my friendly companion For the road has been a customer And places my joyful partner…