Oke’s Musings: Poetry, People and Places
Nnọọ * Welcome
I am writing a poem about you
For a well blessed day it was
You made the skies dark blue
And such a lovely day gone pass
Today I was heavily stressed
My eyes weak and dreary
To find my way to bed
I pray you, dwell with me
We all are thankful to Thee
Heavens blessings on us do fall
Myself, my friends and lovely family
Your love keeps us all
The whole of Nature praise you
The flying birds, the tree leaves
The whole of Nature, with her hue
All come to bow before Thee
Once upon a midnight dreary
As I pondered weak and weary
The night was grim and all was damp
Swarms of flyfull insect surround my lamp
And out there the trees stood like Halloween ghosts
Waiting to take a stab, standing lightly on the dusts
The clouds shine, Zeus was trying out his new lamp
His match sticks light the heavens, lands and the swamp
The grey bearded unsmiling Moon shone gleefully
My big head watching it, tired and weary
My head stuck back into the window hole
And at first it fell on a big bowl
A friend lay snoring up the bed
And to me, the cool ground I laid
Strange lonely sounds of the dark
Rent the air, on my mind it left its mark
This night cold, quiet and galely uncaring for its looks
And all I had as a pillow was those books
I thought wild, letting my mind wander
Minding not the quick wind and her asunder
But if I was asked to let be
This night, what the gifts God gave me
The disturbing slow-speed lamplight moth
Or the cold winds this strange Night brought?
Love caught me unawares
Staring thru the dim light
Across the long quiet hall
And the solemn drops of rain
Sifting cool breezes thru the window
The length of my arm surveying
And the wavering candle light joyful
My paper shade with tears
As you appear scantily clad before me
Oh smooth smoke of the mind
This night reminds me of you
Thundering, Heavens clap
In might and strange call
We tremble, we watch
The crystal drops fall
Freezing winds flush about
The rain falls, uncaring The Heavens light, thunders nephew
Show his face, now and then
Sending chills down our spines
Everyone clasping their cheeks
Some minding not the dripping saliva
All waiting and watching With some enjoying the cold
Dreading the fearsome duo; the lightning and his
nephew
Tree tale
by Oke Iroegbu and Frank Onuoha
March 14, 2015
Sitting under a long leafy tree
On a mild and serene noon
With some Natures best creatures
A stray buzzing bee
A colony of black ants
A handful of wild mushrooms
And some twittering birds
The breeze blows at intervals
Bringing the smell of Cattle to us
And the trees leaves tried to see
Those who took refuge under her comfort
Blushing at the admiration on our eyes
As we perceive the sweet fragrance from her flowers
While the fruits fall solemnly
What a sight this is!
The cute plummages on the birds
The birds sitting on the tree
On this quiet and calm Sun
And us sitting under the trees warmth!
– Family is Divine. Marriage is approved by God, so also is the family. The family influences the society and the family is an agent of positive change.
– Family gives hope and understands more than any other. If we are from the same roots, live together, play together, hope together, love and care together and definitely knows when one is sad, downtrodden, good and lively we tend to understand one another without much stress. We understand when one needs to stay alone or when he-she needs a hug. So the family do understand better most times.
– Family funtime is the best playtime! Have you watched a comic, drama, movie or concert with the family or shared a joke? Have you tried playing games with loved ones? The joy derived in the smiles and laughter of a loved one lightens the heart and unburdens the soul. It gives a heart felt feeling which is indescribable.
– The family cares and loves. It is only in the family that you see unbiased love, care and emotion. In a family that loves one another, God abides and to stand together a strong team of hearts is built.
– Family shares, builds and lives together. Knowing that your sister, brother, husband, wife, baby, uncle, aunty, niece, cousin etc are part of you and pieces of traits found in them maybe found in you, push up that feeling of closeness, community and humanity. You see such people as you see yourself, you love them as much too.
– Family is a Divine agent of Comfort, Encouragement, Control, Reconciliation and Consolation. Take a quick look at the prodigal son who came back with nothing but shame and disgrace, but the family welcomed him back. Whenever I feel deeply hurt, pain, sad, happy, good, achieved, I do call the attention of the family or atleast one member of the family. It boosts my believe that someone has my back and would always lend a shoulder, arm or a word. Towards the times of stress, eg exam times, I travel home to acquaint and relieve myself of education, work and other stress. It do work for me. Each time I resume schooling or work after staying with the family I find myself better improved and equipped, ready and in high spirits to succeed and exceed my previous efforts.
– But then, sometimes things will change but we must begin and end with the family. Here, you can always come back to the family, it”s always yours. Friends leave, but family always stay.
So do pray, love, care and never forsake the family.
I want to tell you how much you mean to me The clouds are blue ’cause I see you The rains are light ’cause we’re under it The Baobab waves her branches ’cause under her we seat The air is mild, you sent sweet breezes to me The nights are warm, you sit beside my… Continue reading You
The rings of stars Shining gleefully tonight Reminds me of you My innocent one Thoughts fly about And in my lonely web Your memories are caught
How days turn to nights Fast the way ahead runs, Everyone in haste to follow it A glimpse we need and a little wit How friends turn pale and blue All changes in different hues And we grow without it In hope of another to meet How it all comes to me now To you… Continue reading How
I knew an old man, Henry He was huge, brave and hairy On a beach away from the ferry He lived, happy and merry A little insect crawled up his foot And ‘ah hu, ah ha!’ he did hoot Hopping about like an Indian goof But smiling and strong after the suit He told of… Continue reading Henry
Rain in Ovim! Cool Winds Mild air Dark Clouds Here and there, Swooshing trees I think I should my head lay for a while! Ovim is my hometown, just arrived from the busy congested city.
When the night skies cloud And all seem black and dark When life seems so strange And all about, hope evaporates When no ideas come about to write And the burning candles seem to be vain When it rains and floods And there’s no tunnel out When pain and disappointments come And the voices of… Continue reading Musing: Encouragement
There are dreams I like to forget, strange and at times confusing. Dreams that came and went and when I wake I find myself still wallowing in my own reverie, call it sleepwalking if you may but I for all the journey we ever had with The Wave detest all such occurrences. It plays on… Continue reading The Legend of Wawadomea: Tarantula Snakefish
Having a tough time reading thru you Now the lights are gone Trying to guide this little candlelight with my shaky palms The light grows wild and full of the strange twists of the world I put it back on its hold Caring so it doesn’t fall But the empty world beckons to it again… Continue reading a message of love
I am sharing this love with you little one I find no words to express my joy My attachment to you The whole world revolves around this: The way I feel about you Being far away from home. With my lil cousin @ Ovim- We share the same first name.
And to you all who see this; this evening: There are many of them here Over the clouds of Ovim Glittering like tiny jewels in the dark Standing majestically over the hills Under where we sight the stars On a mild quiet evening Natures gleeful stare on us And our own look, up To meet… Continue reading Natures Tale
Make your heart a fine garden Free of rocks and weeds Bring all sweet flowers and trees Let the Golden Sun shine on it Then watch all beautiful birds Come to play on it Sorry guys my system got spoiled. Trying to come back, missed it and love!
I was the boy
Hairy, impatient, hopeful
A grandson of a great farmer
A veteran and a warrior
Hewn out of strong wills
Killing one eyed bugs
Fearing not man or beast
Eating the grains of the field
And the sweet Bees honey
I was the boy
Living ten thousand years ago
That walked the empty streets
Infested by dusts and droughts
Cladding a ragged cloth
Baking in the hot sun
Minding not stray barking dogs
I was the boy
Aware of the dying Earth
Of cannibal islands, and kings
Of all dangerous places
The depths of the Ocean blue
The lifeless deserts
The Triangle at Bermuda
And the cold Antarctica
I was the boy
Standing under the Baobab
Waving goodbye to the setting Sun
On his journey back to Slumber
Smiling with all my might
Watching the Egrets march
With the Wildebeest
Wondering, thinking, believing
I was the boy
Fighting in the Great War
Blackened out now and then
By the wild boom
Of the French metal canons
Fearing neither blood nor gun
Traversing the fields with the face
Smeared of grease and blood
I was the man
Living in modern cities
Picking exotic flowers
Walzing all over the town
Eating the ripe Plums
A hopeful, a grateful man
Loving both God and Nature
And now you just met me
When I say goodnight I meant I love you And sad I am, to let my eyes Close before you Though my consciousness gone My heart beats warmly In ecstatic joy of you And all you stand To be for me For Ma H. Iroegbu Mr and Mrs John Iroegbu Mr and Mrs Chuky… Continue reading Goodnight Tale
Have you sat on a desk Outside the cloudy dark Waiting for some shooting star On a journey to the east? The dark solemn nights Quiet, shy and calm Whistles to the ears Soft tunes of Mother Nature Calling all beasts, and flora Gathering a long tale Like a stalk of leaves Packed on… Continue reading Shooting Star
In a forgotten land there was a forgotten bird who spanned the length of River Kyle longer than Nile. In a forgotten land there was a forgotten fish who swam the nooks of River Kyle longer than Nile The forgotten fish fell in love with the forgotten bird For several full moons Through fatal storms… Continue reading Natures cruelty by Emeka Ogbonnaya
This evening, watching the ants A good lesson came by Keep love in your heart And every challenge is conquered Oiroegbu Halls
She lay in my arms Quiet, whispering and thinking Listening to the tune Of the Pines outside I saw the pain, the grief The despair maybe from disappointment Not sure of the future I wonder, I search her I look all about for a clue Beautiful she is, just lonely Wallowing in an unseen pain… Continue reading She
Let the rains fall heavily Wash our green fields free of blood Let snow cakes clog boots and machines Let air blow off deadly jets Let all darkness turn to life – green and abundance And let Divinity bless us humanity Let the world know some peace Let Mother Nature declare war on War! Oiroegbu… Continue reading Peace
Remember me, when old and frail I become When the tales I tell, leave my lips All emboldened in my cold heart And all I could is mutter Remember me when my white face Darkened and old become And my skin dry from my age And all I can is to wimp Remember me when… Continue reading Remember me
I offer you my hand Take it, make it one of yours It is a piece of my heart, That I give you Keep it safely with you For yours is safe with me Friends are roses Their aroma smells From afar off Their light, like the sun Throwing warmth to us Following our paths… Continue reading A friend and family
Talk about my ears All the while I was an alien An item of friendly mockery Yes, the ears are special Made to hear not this earth Divine, a gift of nature Giving to this innocent child A burden bestowed A blessing to see To hear the faintest Of voices, of the trees calling Of… Continue reading An Elfy ear
Listen to the voices of your conscience To the voices hewn to the strings of your heart The drum player from across the forested hills Beats the rhythm, that searches the mind And asks many questions, On a cloudy evening During the time of the Harmattan Comes a drummer, followed by a flute And when… Continue reading Listen
How beautiful it is to love Two hearts to become one To see from the same reason To dance under the tree On nights the moon shone How lovely it is to love Even when the earth Full of pain and tears Cloud about the atmosphere But the love we have Shields us from all… Continue reading To Love
Oh see the spider web Fine, gay and lonely Clean it is and well kept How clean mother spider seem! Quiet, harmless and welcoming A fortress she clones But an abattoir For any visitor The spiders web Lies empty in wait Expectant of a kill A stray fly or bug Oiroegbu Halls
The painter is a poet The poet is a painter There comes a time When we shall paint the world With all beautiful hue Beautiful, light and colorful, Make her look like a butterfly Broken out from a cocoon Adding a fresh lively color To the worlds darkness The oceans blue is a painting The… Continue reading The Poet-Painter
Cry not pretty child There is no greater slavery Than self rejection and pity If the world had repainted The landscape unfavorably Do not yield, life is more To this, the living soul Perseveres, in knowing Of the short time of life Nothing on this earth, Your golden tears worth When all falls off the… Continue reading Despair not
Oh little wiggly woobly weebly Froggie Dancey on a longey quiet bluey lake ‘Wob wob’ it shrieked on a mild evenings air calling the Natures big and small To a short lively weebly woobly dance… Pic provided by Mary Grace M. Salomes I decided to write a short piece for children. My friend, Mary from… Continue reading ::Little Woobly Weebly Froggie Dance::
There’s a land far far away Somewhere any good traveller can reach A strong march thru fields of green and yellow wheat Which on it hides, flesh eating Ostriches And undisturbed monitors fighting to get a bite of flesh A sky that changes apparitions when stirred Across the long deep oceans With sea monsters, cucumbers… Continue reading A Tale of Fantasia
Look into my eyes See how special you are Feel my heart jump with joy And that is cos you are here With me, and the setting sun See the sun set She laughs, and throws a kiss Waving a goodbye, saying Say your mind little fella But here I stand, speechless Shy, afraid and… Continue reading Look into my eyes
Then I heard your drift, Flowing through the forest Washing men’s nakedness… When there was love When on the stream side I sit Trying to peer thru the tall shrubs I saw the white clouds Clear as the sweet spring water Leaping in joyful haste, In boundless ecstasy Washing the little rocks Pulling pebbles along… Continue reading The Stream, Kpere
This piece does not make me a believer of mysticism. It is just a thought I had seeing the strings of events that played thru my life for the past year.
There are nights that the world stays calm Quiet, silent not even a time of wink or snare A time, poets stay alone in thought Wondering what others see as absurd Unnecessary, awful and undeserved The lines read in the mind Draws a quieter person Turns the mind to a great arena, A giant field… Continue reading A Windy Tale
The clouds are crying The lines of silver Wash off the dark clouds There was no moon today No stars either Just I and nature The pattering bash on my head On this night I was naked as I came The raindrops beat me In a soothing understanding The colds ate into my flesh Grasping… Continue reading A run in the rain
Wake up Walk up to the window side Watch the golden sun rise Majestically from the East Feel the morning airs Swooshing thru the yellow fields Feel the heat of mother Nature The warmth that gives life Look around, look out for the birds Migrating and home comers It is bright morning It’s a nice… Continue reading A bright morning in December
Tonight we sit under the moons light She gave her torch for all to see From dark houses, or from the seats Beneath the huge trees in the hamlet The moons light always came with soft airs Mild, enticing, strangely something Divine Then the noises of children playing Rent the air, yelling, wailing infants The… Continue reading The Moons Tale
Oh I am in love Your grapes gave me wine Your love gave me life It is at your table I dine I stand at the foot of a hill Watching the setting sun Near the busy oil palm mill I see women, their quarry burn The road to the stream Are littered with fallen… Continue reading Who I love
Kokookoroko kokorokoro A greeting called from afar The children ran out excited As if the message was for them But then who knows? Heads up, listen attentively Komkom korookom Another beat rang out Pushing the mild hit Into the ears of even the heaviest village sleeper ‘Oh how cute, it is one of the Kings… Continue reading The Messenger
One creaky windy night, By the house near the riverside Stood a tree, solemn and queer Standing like a sword wielding knight Posing to take a decisive blow Bending on strange parts, different The branches full of green algae, Stood like the muscles of Hercules And its rough body smeared with sap Patches of a… Continue reading Musing: Strange Loneliness
All the while I sat on a bus My mind was already with you Dreaming all I could see When I arrive to your embrace Oh beautiful tree Standing solemnly outside By my room window Waving her green leaves When the Night comes with her breeze Making melody for me Singing a cool lullaby But… Continue reading Back from traveling
Dear poetry friend and family. I was shortlisted for a poetry contest in Nigeria. I seek your support and help by reading, voting(by sharing the poem on your Fbk or twitter) and asking your friends to share the poem. I need to make this poetic breakthrough, I need your support. Thanks and God bless you.… Continue reading Help me get there!
There’s a star Out’here Lookin’ lonely and hapless It looked even more prettier alone I saw it from the bed When I pushed the curtain to a side Tis cold and moonless night It was shiverin’ Or maybe I thought it was Just under my bed I heard a cricket shriek Maybe he was mad… Continue reading A Lonely Dream
The stars are glittering this evening Showing their white shining teeth Baring the light that twinkle once upon a minute The window curtains dance to the tune Played by the passing romantic air The wind plays a calm flute, a lyric Which the whole clan hears and listens The forest dwellers, the hamlet and town… Continue reading A tale of the Wind
How light I feel tonight I have been fighting myself Asking rhetorics, muttering about Where things got wrong Muddled even to believe That our love is no more Praying silently, lips moving With teary eyes I stood Peering at a lonely partridge Plucking the seeds of a tree The love I had for you The… Continue reading Tonights Wishes
If there comes a knock on the door Don’t be in a hurry to answer For there goes a strong wind Rushing about the dry cloud A very strange bust of air Roaming the streets, the fields Pulling leaves, and sand along Dancing on the pathway leading to the hamlet Painting faces with all white… Continue reading Cold Harmattan
