Okechukwu’s Musings: Poetry, People and Places

Author: Oke Iroegbu

  • 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…

  • Owerri

    How I missed you beautiful city The city that made me a man! Oh, how lovely it is to walk your streets Like Robin back from the gaols of France But then the city wear a new look Like a silver bracelet, shiny and comely Upon the old things the new thrive New Owerri and…

  • August night

    I shall sing like the nightingale for you Throwing flowers before your feet And make for you a fine cuddly seat Tonight I will stand behind the mango tree And I shall call out to you, so we can meet; So we can hold hands and walk to the square* I shall tell you my…

  • August: Paper Poem

  • The Messenger, part 2

    The dark evening is serene and calm Though the vampire bats hover up the skies And the little crickets quiz all around… Many sat for dinner for it was a long day The farms, the ponds and the big market The smell of dried cod soup pass thru the air, It was a favorite among…

  • My humble land

    Now the morning has come finally After the stress of yesterdays rain This hilly land wakes warily Our pots are full of Heavens blessings Sweet musings and fine sights are all about me The bees, the green hills, the swans that fly away The vast fields of flowers which crops the Lilies And the blue…

  • The City: An Elegy

    They call her the Peoples Elephant Yet it sits sprawled like a mad man Eating the debris of waste for nutrients Driving the cattle mad so they scatter Breaking the peoples will and mind Into a million strange atoms So that the Elephant is left in Ant pieces The Sewages are dirty, messed up The…

  • A muse: Diary of a Traveller

    Dear Diary… It is very early morning And I wake to go home After a nice breakfast Of Indomie and… I ‘hijacked’ a ‘Took-took’ To take me to the park Okay, it was very cold Last night… I warmed up with a sweater But yet the Night was cruel Now, it is quiet warm Some…

  • Thankful Psalm

    l feel your warmth Jehovah The peace and comfort You gave Now the sun shine thru my curtain Strings of beautiful colors I see Oh Jehovah, You are Awesome The sky blue clouds stand at ease You stand out, You are Handsome! The love I feel, undescribable The life I have, gracefully blessed He loved…

  • Sunday light in Uyo

    Arise and shine Arise and shine This morning brings to us Fresh dry airs, severely cold With dew strong like smoke Rushing thru the glass window In a fresh bust of race, To the green fields of meadow Strange paintings the dew draw Throwing up busts of free air One of sweet vitality and life…

  • When night falls

    When the night shroud falls across the land The stars glitter like the tip of a witchs wand The moon wakes to the tune of the crickets And the people dress themselves into jackets The windows creak with each push of the air The mighty wind just came with her wares To the dark clouds,…

  • Four Musings: My Music, The Train, August and WordPress

    1. My Music The sweet tingling of the guitar strings On my soft palms reminds me of a song Which plays quietly in my heart Without drums and strings they play The songs call out to love To memories which I adore I will let this music play through the valleys And the peak of…

  • Folk: One night, one story

    It has been long I left my village And they must have felt my absence For the moon still shone always But then no one to tell the childrens tales I missed seeing the grey bearded moon I missed the serenity of the countryside I missed seeing the birds circle the sky And the calls…

  • Color 2

    There are many colors, nice and cute Dull and tiring, fainting and mute Some fall by the bronze roadside More on the greens of the field The birds fly across the cerulean sky With the jade hued beetle buzzing by, On the empty dusty rocks words echo And the ever warm and cuddly yellow- The…

  • My Love

    Onyinye Chukwum! The pearl that shines with the sun, Your skin glitter like pretty diamonds Upon the darkest of nights you shine From the Earth to the heights of Heaven Your thoughts come to me like fine wine! The love we share knows no bound It is like the harp and the players fingers A…

  • Syria

    The tears of dying children Is the lullaby of gunships The desert is smeared with Grease, oil and human blood The days turn to grieving nights But the world knew no sanity And those who fight in the fields Humanity eludes, Life is a little less than a chickens And yet we walk free across…

  • The Gardeners seed

    Saint-Ligoue Street This was the idea born to me Sometime, somewhere, August or May The streams of thoughts come to me The ones I may not all, say I met a gardener down the road, Gracefully adorned with a hat on a pinafore Smiling, he sat on a wood log spreadagled And I thought I…

  • Watch the sun rise

    I watch the sun shine thru my window Throwing me a familiar wink And painting the curtain gold Thru the city streets the lights glow Like the color of brew which men drink On all faces it shone, young and old Day breaks again in the city My heart long for something else My dreams…

  • New Days song

    Awake to the morn, Savoring the taste Of a fresh minty day Listening to birds call And the feelings within Awake to Heavens call, A brand new song on my lips And a gaze into the fields As the tree leaves fall With the burst of the wind In fine danceful circles The tree leaves…

  • Lullaby: Rain drums

    Tap tap tap tap… The first drops fall, Look up, and see a battalion Rushing down in haste Scattering in multitudes, Causing ‘chaos’ to the city Splashing happily, joyfully Upon all who dare stand before it The night rains are nice When they come with the wind- With a very strong wind It made my…

  • A Psalm: To Jehovah, Ebenezer!

    ”I feel a power other than mine I feel a strenght greater than me” The strongest winds and storms Tell of a might, The beauty of His love A testimony of grace! He gave me a yam, alright! Haha, he gave me a knife also He gave me a fine dream I worship His Majesty,…

  • July

    Here comes a month… Fresh and blessed With even a strike of rainfall And the golden face of the Sun Which delight, I call my imagination The night will be as usual… Full of cricket shrieks And the love I always knew   I wish you a beautiful July A happy new month to all…

  • Beautiful

    Beautiful are your smiles The curves on your mouth are alluring They pout as you stare at me Your eyes say a lot to a thoughtful me Beautiful are your eyes The straight lines of your face are pretty The thought of you are good dreams, You are my inspiration!

  • For me, a thoughtful piece

    1. There are hidden crickets singing carefree-ly Whenever I find myself in my quiet time A moment just before I set into a reverie, A moment I recall all I like to see in my dream Dreams come true if you keep it at heart; What joy one will have to climb the Kilimanjaro Or…

  • Three Short Poems: The Stars, June and Thankful

    ::The Stars:: We wait under the old mango tree Counting the glittering stars And lying on the sandy soil To get a better glimpse of the skies The Wind is our guest, She mocks the rendezvous She whispers the tunes of Nature And drag tree leaves with it An evening of quietness A moment to…

  • Thoughts

    Dear diary, Night falls now… The city is quiet Save from toads Out in the field And wild crickets Hiding on the walls The distinct noises Of a quarelling couple Disturb my thoughts Down on this bed, I count the days work There were strange clouds Up the clouds today There were tales in my…

  • Muse: Ne’er too late

    When the sun fails to wake, The day grows so cold and gloomy The Dew cast her spell on the day From the hilltops, vales and lakes To the countryside which is woody, And the ponds where the ducks lay There is no ‘life’ in the sad day By the riverside, the wind blast Throwing…

  • Nneoma

    Nneoma, nwayi oma m ji eme onu Obidiya, Anam ede akwukwo a N’ihi gi, n’ihi ihunanya gi Iru gi di ka mmiri no n’iyi Ochi gi na-eme m obi uto Enweghi ihe m ga eji tunyere ya Lee kwa mgbe akwa n’egbum I kpom si “Bia, kam bie gi oma Tinye aka gi n’akam Biko…

  • Colors: the first part

    Colors are very beautiful They tell a lot about all; And a little about this and that The ocean, the sun The mice that live across The busy street roads Or the golden corn field And the wild, the deserts And the ice of Antarctica Colors describe our feelings Red with rage The royal purple……

  • Pastoral: The Shepherd

    Aye, he stayed in the vast wild lands alone, With only the bleating of sheep as his song And smell of grass and dung as his perfumes The singing of birds play him sweet hymns And his friends and companions are mother Natures abundance Under the trees, he sits to play a song for his…