Oke’s Musings: Poetry, People and Places

Category: Africa

  • Rise & Shine

    I watch the gold dawnPrompting the sky stain,Impressive and grandSudden breezes andOptimistic birds sing This morning broughtThe smell of life aboutDamp clay and mistsMany views of horizonsEmbedded in gold clouds Birds fly off in echelonCalling to the flying rankSpreading strong wingsI stretch my arms againIt’s time to rise & shine

  • The Rainmaker’s Poem

    Do you want to hear the rain howl in the wind?Then you must come to AfricaHere the rainfall is a sport to childrenAnd a time to count numerous blessingsBut if you doubt this, I will make it pour! Come rainfall! Come, dear friend!Send this town scuttling for safety,Let the first rain, fill pots with murky…

  • Shepherd lore: Sunset

    I wonder why she hides behind the hills and cloudsShying away from the approaching breezy eveningOn clouds where birds fly in echelon, calling a farewell as they wentOn casted tree shadows hanging on the springs like rags on the railBored frogs may resume their croaky ballads;Hundreds of bass voices singing, in harmonyThe coloured clouds melt…

  • Stars

    When I wait under the old mango treeI count the glittering stars far awayAnd laying on soft sandy soilI get a better glimpse of the dark skiesThe wind is my guest,She rents her cold self to me,She whispers tunes of natureAnd drag tree leaves to fan me,It’s an evening of quietness and cold,Moments of thought…

  • Quote About Africa: State of Mind

    When you leave Africa, as the plane lifts, you feel that more than leaving a continent you’re leaving state of mind. Whatever awaits you at the other end of your journey will be of a different order of existence — Francesca Marciano

  • Love Poem: Tryst

    I invite you to a two-people drama; not Romeo’s, not Juliet’sJust you and I, under the full grey moonshineStand aside, watch me do this new dance I learnedCome closer, look into my eyes, and let me smell the rosesCome let me tell you of my love and how loving set me free Nothing excites me…

  • Peace

    I love the peace each morning brings:Wake to a reassuring and mild breezeReminds of the perfect gold sun risingBehind those exotic and ancient trees It’s not intentional to meEach time I’m awestruck!With this beauty all around,The smell of life is abundant! So scenery & landscapeOf cheerful flying birds,Of ducks & deer walkingWelcome the lovely day

  • Pic: Zimbabwean Wilderness

    From Jaspher Mecha

  • Hang out with Chidiebere Okoroji from Nigeria

    Today’s hang out will be with a former classmate I share a passion for writing with. He enjoys writing about politics and justice. Please welcome Chidiebere Okoroji from Imo State, Nigeria. If you follow my blog, you might have seen his poems. In this post, I’ll ask him some questions about his private life and…

  • May

    Oh, May, lovely May! The month I fell (for you) Like old tree leaves Swerving in the wind Carefree and happy To meet the dirt below I dreamed a lot Our memories worth Under the grim shadows Of this quiet mango tree And the glad glare Of the moonlight You remind me of May

  • Orbits of Love

    Your eyes are like orbits of loveWhere stars shine in the reverie I let you know thisYou – a creator of happiness,And every time you smileMy heart sings a tune of bliss

  • Video: Beautiful Rwanda

    Beautiful African motherland! Visit Africa and see how it will change you forever!!

  • Quote on Education

    Education is the foundation for human capital and management

  • My Brook – Oko’pia (VO by Aneta Felix)

    I’m excited to introduce an excellent journalist, poet, creative writer and voice over artist based in Lagos, Nigeria. This poem was voiced by her. Please enjoy this soothing weekend presentation from Aneta Felix! From home in quiet hamlets, I hear your surgeTelling stories when you pass through the roaring current,Through white clouds painted by sound…

  • The Night is Pregnant

    Now it’s raining again! The clouds quietly gather For Night is heavy with child And ready to yield pots of water! Lightning draw caricatures Across the blackened skies Frightening all who are awake These expectant clouds Or mischievous lightning Knew to keep heavy sleepers awake

  • Pic: African Wild Dog

  • Love Poem: Vocal Night

    A host of shrieking cricketsA plethora of frogs abundantAnd birds of vocal strengthPerform a chorus tonight,Wistful, thaw rhythms softSaved for a dull nightFor two gentle heartsIn natural silence rest I listen to your heartbeatOn my embrace, this night

  • Diary of A Village Boy: The Leopard Spirit 6

    When I reached home that evening, it seemed like the whole world was upside down. I felt my head swell with hurt from the bee stings and sharp roots embedded in my feet. By the side of my bamboo bed, Nene and her dog sat, staring at me. She held my hand and squeezed softly.…

  • Lion and Safari Park

    African big cats are unbelievable, I could watch this video from ‘The Lion and Safari Park’ all day! Lions are my favourite big cats. When you hear this in person it awakens a type of primal fear in you that really can’t be put into words. Come let’s roar together! 🦁

  • Tradition: Ofo na Ogu

    There are natural laws upon which the universe is governed. One of them is the Law of reaping what you sow. Another is the Law of Innocence. You can not do anything to an innocent person. No matter how hard you try. These laws are governed by universal principles to the degree that both good…

  • Muse: If I Love

    If I do love youI would make a hut at the gatesDrum and call upon your nameI would write very long poemsSing in the dead of the nightSo it sounds among the ancient hillsWith Echo, the talkative spirit of Air Start a stunning WordPress blog here.

  • Night Rain

    Hear the rain howl in the wind Outside, this blessed frigid night Rainfall is our sport for children A moment to count many blessings, And all doubts to wash off the pour!

  • Love

    Love is a song written On care & truth panes

  • Memories

    Breezes bring memories; mild rosy fragrance, They played and sang of the Nightingale, We wait to tryst, yearning for a lovely sunset

  • Quote on Resilience

    “The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.” ― Robert Jordan, The Fires of Heaven

  • Pic: Ostriches

  • Love Poem: Best Sunset

    We wonder what it meant To follow orange twilights As it glides down the horizon Leaving all for the evening But the silhouette of love The best we keep for ourselves Staring into your pretty eyes Is my favourite sunset moment

  • Love Poem: Memory

    For love’s memoryI cherish this dose,This care, your beauty,Every time the sun roseI remember this feeling

  • Pic: Herd of Elephants

    A herd of African Elephants

  • My Brook – Oko’pia

    From home in quiet hamlets, I hear your surgeTelling stories when you pass through the roaring current,Through white clouds painted by sound sunlight,And greener footpaths, heading towards the waterfallsI sit on the banks, to hear rumours of the wild woods,Surrounding trees and happy birds blow me kisses,Farther off, children pick palm fruits and rocksSeeking a…

  • The Shepherd’s Song

    Tut, tsi, tsii, tuut, tsiiWill you think I was talking to myself?Haha, not in any way! I call to my sheep that waySo we bond, we use a special codeAnd when they spread over the grasslandI sit to play my guitar- singing HallelujahQuivering fingers, dry in the noon sun,Taste of dew on my lips, a…

  • Quote on Africa

    If I have ever seen magic, it has been in Africa – John Hemingway

  • Sounds of African Drums

    I hear the sound of drumsVigorous beats across the land,Bird rhythms rise and fallFar away in the damp jungleWhere the grass hides allThe earth sang with the windInsect wings zither like guitarsSwimming fishes create ripples,Tiny circles of gentle musicAll melodies for the quiet earth!Far away in the damp forest!

  • Africa my Continent | Njabulo N.

    Africa my continent,The land of our ancestors,The home to beautiful nature and diverse species,That sings humming songs,Even on cold weathers and rainy seasons.Africa my continent,Africa my pride,The land of the black blood,Flowing down my veins,That irrigates all the beautiful fields.Africa my continent,Africa my land of learned youths,Knowledgeable generation,With a beautiful and bright future. Africa my…

  • Evening

    A tranquil evening is nature’s way Of welcoming a weary shepherd, Sunset – thoughtful views herald, Memories where trees dance And soft grasses wait when birds fly home

  • Sunset

    I wonder why you hide behind the hills and cloudsShying away from the approaching eveningLetting birds fly in echelon, a farewell callingTree reflections on the waters like ragsWhen bass voiced frogs resumed their songsHundreds of vocalists singing, in harmonyThe cream coloured clouds melt awayAs queer images draw across the skies,Shepherds call to sheep from the…

  • Changing Skies

    We sang of a proud cloudOnce of love and benevolence,Rains when there is heartbreak in loversShines in the cold hands of the windAnd allows the green to shed the fields Now we live under a sky that changes apparitions when stirred

  • Muse: Rejoice (2)

    My heart rejoices, but why I can not say!The sun has risen, the land is goldenThe firmament is bright, blue and greyDews melt, trees dance, flowers openI rejoice for the lights which have come,For the love which I see all about me,For the little fine hamlet, I call homeI rejoice in her immense beauty So…

  • Rainmaker’s Tale

    When the green neighbourhood dance to the call of the wild one. Dark are the skies; darker even are the clouds that stalk the rain. The wind came swift and slow; rushing at times as petals of flowers dance. To the music of the coming rain; to lullabies that made heads bounce. And to the…

  • Night Poem: Feelings

    Starry nightWishes mutualLove feelings

  • Sounds of Rain

    Rooftops flyCurtains sailSounds of rain

  • Tale of a Moonless Night

    there’s no moon tonight,just littering galaxies,there’s pitch darknesson the path leading homeshadows grip the passerbywe are told night is no friend. this night of unusual aura,thoroughly cold and dreamy,of hills surrounded by mists,and a village amidst a relic,dreams are not far awaythe night sounds are lullaby. flickering lights come aliveunnatural solar lamps glintgreen forest and…

  • Africa No Filter & African Women in the Media Graduate Trainee

    Africa No Filter Here’s an opportunity for female African storytellers! Please if you know anyone, share this with them. The latest media grant by Africa No Filter will only fund women storytellers Women’s voices are still underrepresented in the media. To help close this gap, the latest Media Grants by Africa No Filter are aimed…

  • Night Poem: Bald Moon

    Misty tasteBald moonshineLonely silhouettes

  • Another Tale of The Wild Woods

    When beautiful summer came… Upon the glades and vales of the wild woods The Mountain took her position and stood quietly by the forest side, Sniffing the sweet smell come from fresh growing flower shrubs Happy birds came flying home Followed by pretty insects and the boar herd The skies tinted with blue skirmish Sometimes…

  • When Night Is No Man’s Friend

    The dark know many a fury When from the back of hills Shadows, fog play on paths When the moon is weary And the cold grip of rebuff, Of howling, unholy laughter Frighten the quiet evening, Sending chills down spines The path is hidden in smog Throwing over the hamlet A blanket of fear and…

  • First Drop

    The first drop of moisture upon earthThe ground rejoice in tumbling lotsUltimate love, overwhelming sootheAs tiny drips, numerous puddles createAnd smell of wet clay wake with the dirt

  • Muse: Granny’s Clay Pot

    Memories Most traditional pots in Igboland are made from moulded clay dried in kilns. In times past, the Igbo society is well known for pottery. Water collected from streams and springs is fed into the big pot. So through the night, the clay pot makes the water chill. In the morning, a cup of water…

  • My Dive | Eriata Oribhabor

    I met your mystery…And dream steam burningBefore my muse-ful call…My turn and ease-ful freedom…Your cursery look, my thirst… I saw your power…Clean sparkling watersTucked from our quartersReveling in towering calmOf surrounding greens. I smiled at a dive…Challenged to striveFor same…not one to standAnd watch from the stands.I took a dive. Commentary: Mr Eriata is a…

  • African Proverb: Closed Mind

    Proverb: Eyes are useless if the mind is blind The eyes see tangible things, but the mind sees much more than that. Ideas are shaped in the mind. After ideas are formed they can now be manifested into real things. Therefore, while eyes are physical, the mind is mental. A mentally blind person can walk…