Oke’s Musings: Poetry, People and Places

Category: Nature

  • Cool Waters

    Cool waters Rush in peace, Hot noon bath

  • May Sunrise

    The humble morning rise from her sleep, Her twin rise from lands of unknown deep Smiling at boroughs, the sun leaves for solitary slumber Going before all; fauna & flora to a place of graceful wonder

  • Haiku: Morning Ride

    Sail bright rays Scramble fair clouds, Dawn your mistress

  • Lullaby: Down By The Riverside

    {Shepherd lore…} Down by the riverside, I wait for my flock to graze, I listen to lovely young lambs call out to their mothers, I wait for the sun to set and for the breezy evening to arrive, Thoughts of a warm bed, stacked with hay return to me, Of the night sky, which is…

  • Moonlight

    I behold the nightfall across the dark blue clouds I watch evening carry desires of men waiting to unfold I enjoy the sensation of the imminent weekend Drums of merrymaking sound miles off, Cackling, singing, every bit of mirthful noise However, the shepherd sits to enjoy his time alone I hear deep-voiced frogs calling out…

  • Night by Robin Bliss

    Softly the gentle night descends Slowly my quiet soul ascends One by one the sparkling lights appears Driving away all my daytime fears The deepness of the solemn night Sweeps away all traces of the light Then Luna shows its lustrous face The milky-way is draped like lace The incandescent peaceful moon rays Seemingly sets…

  • Dear Starry Night

    Dear starry night, This quiet and lonely friend of mine Here comes once more my fable Passed to me by a surge of the wind And the waves of the breezy ocean The stars whisper; Dream one more time, dear shepherd Consider the lilies that grow by the roadside For they care only for the…

  • Earth Day: Doing What Is Right

    Every day should be designated as Earth’s Day Indeed, I acknowledge that today and every other day should be proclaimed as Earth’s Day. Not just as the planet which harbours life, but as a reminder to treat it with more respect. There are so many ways to treat the earth right. But one thing is…

  • First Night Rain

    This night rain flatter my townShe sneaked up our curtainsAnd let her waves wrestle with themThe breeze blew out the candlelightsWhen the thunder howl in his deep voiceEach time the lightning appearsBe sure to wait for some rumblingYet the downpour clapping outsideJust by the dark and slippery balconyTries to let the pata-pata cover all sound…

  • African Wonders 5: River Nile

    Egypt’s Nile river, life-giver. One fascinating thing about the African continent is its landscape. From the mountains of North Africa through the Sahara dunes, down to the forests and savannah of West, Central and Southern Africa, there are wonderful things to behold. The sunny climate and the glittering water bodies in Africa add extra flavour…

  • Woman

    Dear woman, I smile when I recall what you depict, who you are and the peace you represent. Woman, life-giver A grand masterpiece of nature, Life bespoke of elegance, Of glamour, a living golden statue Fear what it could be When life has no she When we assume maybe Woman, lover She brings peace to…

  • Lullaby: Breezy Evening

    Good evening. Howdy? I love it when it’s evening. Why? Cos that’s when I find time to dream and reflect under the watchful eyes of Mother Nature. One way Providence rewards hard work is through good food and mild evening breezes. Indeed, I have had both and still enjoying one. So I’m going to give…

  • The Rainmaker’s Poem: Come Rainfall!

    Do you want to hear the rain howl in the wind? Then you must come to Africa Here the rainfall is a sport to children And a time to count numerous blessings But if you doubt this, I will make it pour! Come rainfall! Come, dear friend! Send this town scuttling for safety, Let the…

  • Daylight

    Sunshine Morning inspiration Farm wake up call Of dreamy fields Outspread under clouds Ripen wheat And golden sunlight Glow upon the dirt

  • Plant A Tree…

    The little pic story below portrays what happens to man and animals when we exploit natural resources without considering the environmental impact. The picture tells a lot of stories, and I hope we can make meaning from it. Let’s plant trees and be heroes.

  • Plant Trees, Plant Hope

    We can’t replace trees that are thousands of years old. But we can plant new ones; we can instill hope for our future generations. Sad image Sequel to my earlier post on uncontrolled bush burning, which destroys plant and animal habitats, I decided to write further on this sad image I stumbled upon. Man and…

  • Night Poem: Peace

    A tranquil evening is nature’s way Of welcoming a weary shepherd, Sundown – his thoughtful views heralds, Memories in which trees fiercely dance And soft grasses wait when birds fly home

  • Commentary on A Tale of the Wild Woods

    This is folklore written by Oscar Wilde, and one that I enjoyed as a teenager. I feel the mix of the honest voice of a boy who loves nature and a budding young writer, happy to engage his wits on imaginative adventures. This work wasn’t meant to be political in any way. But reflecting on…

  • Muse: Sunrise

    Fortune may rise with the sunlight For dawn, flourishing lovely dew, Presents a distinct day for a new start And to every man, equal odds to grow

  • Nature: Hope

    We have seen vegetation crumble; Even the greens of Sahara go south Towing with it our life-giving earth Spreading tentacles of drought Upon man who knows only profits I walked ahead of time Beyond those warm blankets Of trees and sunny forest, Listening to Nature speak With hope, I gladly seek

  • The Rainmaker

    When the green neighborhood dance to the call of the wild, one Dark are the skies; darker even are the clouds which 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…

  • Inspiration by Franklin Onuoha

    In this lovely piece from Franklin, my Nigerian friend, I could hear the echo of my voice. Well written poem. The sound of hooting owls The chirping of the crickets at night The calm breeze that massages my skin after a hectic day The acrid smell of harmattan The torrents of rain that make musicals…

  • Nature Poem: The Butterfly

    Sunflower rests under the tree’s shade, Blushing over the fate of a butterfly, With strange but colourful stripes, One that kept all nature wondering.

  • Video: Responsible Tourism

    We must educate everyone on responsible tourism.

  • Sitting by Robin Bliss

    Sitting on this grassy knoll, Overlooking the vastness Of the vast open sea and A strip of aureate colored sand Hearing the gulls calling mournfully Seeing the breakers endlessly Crashing against the shore In the distance are islets Dark blue against the sky Beyond them, the boundless ocean Feeling quite relaxed and mellow Feeling at…

  • Hibiscus by Elizabeth Amarachukwu Okafor

    Red petals, green tan Three singing hornets And a happy, happy sun Hovering above the scent Marrying my words with yours is so good a hibiscus. Scenting every phrase with juice

  • Colours of Nature

    Autumn is a second spring when every leaf becomes a flower.

  • Plant A Tree by Sir David Attenborough

    If the heat bothers you plant a tree If the water bothers you plant a tree If you like fruits, plant a tree If you like birds, plant a tree And if you like life, plant many trees

  • The Crow and The Rabbit

    A Crow was sitting on a tree Doing nothing all day. A small Rabbit saw the Crow, And asked him, ‘Can I also sit like you And do nothing all day long?’ The Crow answered: ‘Sure, why not.’ So, the Rabbit sat on the ground Below the Crow, and rested. All of a sudden a…

  • African Wonders 3: The Great Pyramid

    The Great Pyramid at Giza, Egypt is both the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one still around today. It was built for King Khufu who died in about 2465BC and is said to have taken thousands of men 20 years to construct. According to Herodotus, an Ancient Greek…

  • African Wonders 2: Sahara Desert

    The Sahara Desert in North Africa is big – very big! It covers a third of the whole continent, measuring 8.6 million square kilometres. It is almost the same size as the USA. It is the largest hot desert in the world. The highest temperature ever recorded there was 58 °C. In a single day,…

  • African Wonders 1: Victoria Falls

    The Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe earns the title of the biggest waterfall in the world. It is 1708 metres across and it drops between 90 and 107 metres into the Zambezi Gorge. An average of 9.2 million litres of water cascades over the edge of the falls every second at peak seasons. Because Victoria Falls…

  • Morning Sun

    I’m glad to see the rising sun It tells by sight stories unspoken And paints my curtain perfect green Divine love woke me to a new start, A new life, something to celebrate When I gather the curtains To glance through tree lines And green field glittering in the sun, The rays catch my breath,…

  • Night rain on my window

    Night rain upon my window panes While clouds rumble in protest The lightning picture through my curtains And shadows dance away from candlelight

  • Thoughts: I Wonder

    Sometimes it’s hard to stop a rolling stone, but whenever it may roll, it always seems to find its way back home. Brett Boyett Home Forever Dear motherland, I’m proud to call you my home. I’m reminded of sunset; it tells that it ends where it began. From tree branches on the hilly countryside, I…

  • Muse: Nature’s Circus

    1 When you call, your sound rent through the wind Whispers, songs of the wild, emissary of mother Nature You send birds, they ‘caw-caw‘, they fly the blue clouds Making the skies their tuft, and you: their leisure 2 Green trees, red flowers, purple feathers, all in perfect unison You call to your own, you…

  • Flight to Summer – Poetry

    There’s a symphony of joy, See it roar up bright skies! Emissaries of the aging day Graceful flights over Africa! * It float above the countryside Leaving to fresh, green fields, Above those endless forests Where hope still lived ahead * Each journey is to an unknown promise, Somewhere between joy and pain But fly…

  • Amuse: A Letter to the Squirrels Living in my Roof

    New landlords Okay guys, I traveled to my country home or just say my village. I was welcomed by squirrels racing on the rooftop. I thought it was a cat at first but cats don’t fly on tree branches. I finally saw one skinny squirrel holding his chin. It wouldn’t wait for me to get…

  • Stars – Poetry

    When I wait under the old mango tree I count the glittering stars far away And laying on soft sandy soil I get a better glimpse of the dark skies The wind is my guest, She rent her cold self to me, She whispers tunes of nature And drag tree leaves to fan me, It’s…

  • Poetale: The Nomad

    When twilight came I took a walk, for some air And down the roadside I went. There a young man stood Bearded heavily unlike myself Throwing corn seeds into his mouth And grinding them with such relish That his brown teeth showed off He stood a little close to my fence And I decided to…

  • eSwatini, Kingdom of (with images)

    eSwatini: meaningThere’s an African country with a name that sounds similar to Switzerland. Swaziland now eSwatini has its name changed to celebrate its 50 years of independence from Great Britain. eSwatini means land of the Swazis or a place for the Swazi. In April 2018, King Mswati, the third announced the change. eSwatini is sandwiched…

  • African Zebra

    An extraordinary land Africa is a land of diversity and extreme beauty. From the rising golden sun to swift flowing rivers and peaceful, grazing black wildebeest spread across the brown and green savannah, one can always have a glimpse of nature’s beautiful paradise. And nature has a way of healing everything… If you ever had…

  • Tale of Wild Woods: Summer Arrives

     When summer finally came, a lot had changed The last snow melted and the sad land woke Grasses started growing, covering the outer earth So those who burrow scrambled out from the dust Soft airs and tidings surround the mountainside Sending sweet emissaries around the valley below Vines, myrrh, mistletoes and pines sprout happily…

  • Self Confidence

    When you believe in yourself anything is possible. Why not? If you are lucky enough to find your passion, then how could giving up be an option? Giving up means accepting a lifetime of wondering what could have happened if you just believed in yourself enough to follow through. It doesn’t matter how fast or…

  • Modern Scramble for Africa

    A Bitter Pill What comes to your mind when you hear about Africa? Savages. Poverty. War ravaged. Disease. Uneducated? Let’s face it, Africa is what it is today because ‘the world’ contributed in keeping it so. We’re only poor by the world’s standard. This is a bitter pill. Another Scramble for Africa? The economic hustle…

  • Path to Harvest – Poem

    Joy is fruit blossomed in the heart of farmers Their smiles are meshed with toil and sweat, Patch of earth print upon their faces And on shoulders they carry huge baskets Marching towards the fields, when it is harvest… Fields are ripe, and trees are heavy with fruit Birds sing from tree tops, monkeys dance…

  • Reflection: The Virus and China

    Not so cuddly thought… As I lay on my bed I had a thought. A thought that actually provoked many questions. Maybe someone can help me understand these issues better if my opinion does not reflect reality. This is the first reflection on racism, the next will be on Africa. NB: I speak for people,…

  • Sunlight – Poetale of Gratitude

    Why am I so happy to see the sunrise and smell her sweet fragrance? I may not explain exactly, but this is why. Before now, I slept like a log, snoring away, unconscious of the world’s drama. Nocturnal creatures crept, and birds hooted. The night is innocently quiet, but it may have consumed many. My…

  • I am Poetry

    I am needle, needless of pain, driving through fabric, to create a happy stitch, I am dance, sometimes something sane, twists and turns, breaking within or without, I am fury, memories may wane, trust on mere ink and paper, pale but yet transparent I am innocence, a cry too soon, living for the weak, suns…

  • Lullaby: Tale of the young Shepherdess

    I will tell you a rhyme of the shepherdess who loved her sheep, She lives in the country and could sing her community to sleep Twinkle went stars nested far up the pregnant black sky, When black clouds float, the gathering rain storm sigh, “It will rain, but it might wait a little,” the young…