Oke’s Musings: Poetry, People and Places

Category: Poetry

  • Mandela by David Thane Cornell #WPD2019

    Arrested by the terror of the times, His faith was not belied; Daily thousands of deaths he lived, Thousands of lives he died. His fugitive dream was captured by A nation’s trusting eyes, His jailers could not see beyond Where the walls of valor rise. Confessed and blessed for giving his life, He never counted…

  • World Poetry Day by Sunil Algama #WPD2019

    Today is the World Poetry Day 2019 At dawn, I heard beautiful voices of birds Melodious and rhythmical I do not hesitate to say Yes, the chirp of birds is poetry I behold at a distance Early morning Blue scenery made me mad I fell in love Promptly with the sun Peeping through the range…

  • Becoming by Fayeampah Collins Akwetey #WPD2019

    a river flows in me; i’ve become a mangrove, but sometimes i thirst for refreshening ** Commentary: For this year’s #WorldPoetryDay2019 I have decided to publish the works of emerging and already published poets on my blog. Today and on the next few days I will be posting poetry from different poets from all parts…

  • Melancholy: My Cup of Muse by Deborah Udochukwu Nnagbo #WPD2019

    As I staggered down a crooked trail With a cup of sadness! Collected in the vicious darkness Of loneliness… Battering my concave vessel Spurn by natures paw,in solitary! To skink the world of my genteel muse. There,in the ambiance of this demonize trail stood I in awe! Gaping and gazing at the mountain of thoughts…

  • Black Race by Donatus Oluchi Tombra #WPD2019

    We aren’t a turn up world With no postcode envy We are a race of diamond Held together by rigid covalent bond So hard, that hate ain’t for us We crave togetherness And When attainable All attacks we resist ** Commentary: For this year’s #WorldPoetryDay2019 I have decided to publish the works of emerging and…

  • I asked…

    First I asked for rain and you gave me a storm I asked for a companion and you gave me a heart 💓 The storm made me see why I needed anothers warmth And the heart 💓 taught me that love goes beyond self

  • Songs of a Shepherd: Come, dear evening

    Come to me dear evening… Let your long airy arms sooth away my stress Bind my wounds, heal the sore on my sandals And let my head rest in my pillow of fine wool Come sing for me, sing like the Nightingale That live by my window side Trace my spines with your fluffy fingers…

  • I’m coming home, with Deborah Nnagbo

    1. Dn I’m coming home,dear forgotten land. For I’ve wandered so far away in the dungeon of life, So far away I journeyed into the rusted past. I picked pebbles of zeal and sealed my fears, I traveled far from home searching for hope Beside the faded branches of loss and pain I was blinded…

  • When it starts to rain

    When it wants to rain and the Heavens rumble The white clouds turn heavy and black But then, this is just morning and… A poet would hide in the cover of his book and ink To scribble words that makes his soul glad Now the rain brings the day some lazy thoughts Pushing the cold…

  • Tears

    Tears are diamonds mined from the heart They are testimonies of memories past remembered Honest tears come from the deepest chamber of hearts And when they come forth, describe pains from being loved

  • Muse: Wild Eyes

    When I stare at the mirror, the sight of you startle me Gracing in the shape you gave my face I wonder Shy to stand before men, to let them behold themselves Through the mirror God had cast in my colorful eyes Now to you pretty, wild acquaintance I salute, I hail, I solemnly greet…

  • The first rain

    1 When the first rains fall, the play arena is set… The lightning snap, the wind howl and here came the heavy rain! With shrieks of joy and happiness the village children and pets will run Pushing to be the first to embrace the rain Now the rain will beckon to all with reduced tempo…

  • Muse: Love

    First, meeting you was a play of fate On the straight road, which drove West Then you were my companion But now you are my destination

  • A Tale of the Wildwoods

    Once upon a Time It was winter And a night of bitter cold The snow lay thick upon the ground And upon the branches of the trees Two Woodcutters made their way home And when they came to the Mountain She was hanging motionless in the air For the Ice King had kissed her So…

  • Don’t mock the humble life

    Do not laugh at me because I live in the countryside, Far, far away from civilization, your civilization Or because I live in a mud walled hut, roofed with thatch So that when it rains, I could fetch the water from the leaking roof Do not laugh at my inability to speak or see things…

  • Like a butterfly for Ma Lucille Dowell

    Like a butterfly, you flew Painting the skies with your love, With your kind beauty In the darkest of nights, You shone… Illuminating the dark Making your light a pathfinder * Now you have given us the path And will only watch us spread the light **** Commentary I learned of my friends passing. I…

  • Retelling a Troubadour’s Story

    I traveled through northern Nigeria, rushing through forests that hid caves and tall hills. I watched the clouds and the sun sail across the fading sky. Evening made the cakes sour, while bananas ripened under the blazing sun. The wind was lively, blowing fine dust and gathering soot from distant burning bushes. Sometimes, we met…

  • Try

    I thought about not trying because others failed what I intend trying I compared my style, my methods with the others’ and found theirs better And if I was better than any of them, it was not significant in any way So, I think I am the class bottom However, I must try I must…

  • Night before Christmas

    It was the night before Christmas, Not a thing was heard or seen at first For the cold night was at its worst But three woodcutters walked through the forest Marching joyfully towards home It was cold, terribly cold that no one could make sense of it So the woodcutters held their lamps close to…

  • A Shepherds Song

    I see the golden sun rise far away, Waking the countryside, painting the day The clouds glitter, no amount of gold can define this: The smell of dew on dry clay and the life all around me The Earth is awake and alive, and we must keep her so It is time to march the…

  • Madagascar

      Tell me of the land where the sands meet the waters, Where forests paint the beautiful landscape light green Tell me of the blue skies that illuminate the ocean As birds sing on the soft cloudless horizon!   Tell me the songs that warm the hearts of the villagers, Teach me the…

  • Make love, not war

    I pray for the day Christians and muslims, blacks, whites, Pray together in the opens and the closet I pray for Syria and Yemen, and all innocent souls, That die for causes that is not of their making I pray for the day we throw flowers and not bombs Of a day that we learn…

  • Fantasia 2: A muse

    There’s a land that reminds me of my lover, Of the abundant joy and bliss she brought to me There’s a land full of green parks and hoppers From the tents one can hear the waters fall joyfully There’s a land that floats on the slow-sail river, Traveling with fallen tree leaves, logs and duck…

  • The Light

    There is a light that glows from the inside, wetting the soul with her warmth And from afar the flares burn like sulphur but close to it, it is only very soft Call it whatever you like, it travels in everyone and advocates for the Earth It reminds us all of how dangerous our activities…

  • Dream away

    Your voice wakes the wild nature in me You sing and your lyrics touch my soul I love the moments you looked over your shoulder To catch my stare; as you danced and laughed *** You dress like the rare tulips that grow on our farmyard Fresh and delicate as pink, lively as the green…

  • Love muse

    Loving you feels like the touch of the calm sweet night breeze, Blowing on the open green fields where wild roses grow Loving you feels like a voyage through the wide blue sea, Where dolphins, drift with the wind and whistle their songs Loving you will be a blissful dream come true Such that we…

  • The Rains lullaby

    I can feel your presence each time you flash through the skies Blowing raindrops on my window panes The rain drops beat the drums, you sang wordlessly in support Now I see you draw images behind my cottoned curtains; Sketching trees sometimes and a phantom with huge pitchforks With the rains you came, searching our…

  • Evening of tales under the Mango tree

    Mild breezes welcome the evening As clouds sail, birds fly away No one is happier than the hamlet children For them, it was a time to travel, Time to travel through stories, Time to see places And time to put the days burden off *** Pile of tree leaves serve as seats Children go about,…

  • Muse: Starry Night

    There’s a star, on a traveling adventure, Sailing through the cloud like a phantom Without arms, she sailed against the wind Stopping when she saw men gaze at her Maybe when she stopped, it was to hide herself But the glittering cloud, held many as her So no one could pick her location exactly ***…

  • A lovers song

    I will hype you everyday Twist your curly hair, Sing quietly even when you sleep Write my poetry with my fingers On your bare naked back I will tell you my imaginations, my tales And when we elope… It shall be to the countryside Far away from any town or village Far away from peoples…

  • The Silent hill

    There’s a point where the earth touch the clouds Twists, turns, the land thrusts up to meet the sky By the sides, vegetation stood guard From there the airs will whisper, As the clouds watch quietly When the wind pass in silence

  • Africa!

    The vision I see of your rising, great motherland, It gets me excited and hopeful! Your children spread like that tentacle of the Octopus But one day, some day, You must gather them together As dew cling to the leaves of trees in the morning So do my hope, my faith in you Africa You…

  • Musing: What if?

    What if the hills on the countryside moved when it wills, What if? What if the waters from the ocean shone like gold, What if? What if men can fly like the queer night bats What if? What if beneath a painting there was a quiet monster What if? And what if love was the…

  • A tale of the WildWoods 3: 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, myrrhs, mistletoes and pines sprout happily In…

  • Life: A Walk in the Park

    Life is like a walk in the wooded green park Where strange fine flowers and plants grow, And pests; rodents, bunnies and insects abound On the roadside will be mistletoes, thorny roses, even cactuses With so much of harmless weed plants sprouting all about They hurt if one touch them and won’t If one will…

  • A lovers song

    “I will love you even when the tree leaves fall In the winters cold and summers heat I will love you even when the days are gone And when the nights grow even darkest” I submit to you All I have and own I am your servant But I am your lover The nights must…

  • Life in African tropics

    In the beginning, life in the tropical forests made more sense without man’s interest When man was afraid to bother the endless mass of green with fearful bugs and insects ** Strange as it seem, but the green tropical forest is a wonderland So much activity go on here, such that it is a distinct…

  • HealingWithNature: Lone Snail

    A photo shot from Imam Akpabio. Can you feel the tranquility and serenity the image shows? Well, ahead of us is a snail foraging his turf. The little stones must be the hills and the spaces in between his valleys! I must say this is beautiful.

  • Musing: Hollow Heart

    Do you know many who had looked through this heart Saw nothing and left it hollow as it was? But you came and made me sing like a baby You saw the hollow in this heart, and filled it with melody I tap my feet, I call you my wife, you are my perfect rhythm!…

  • The Shepherds Song

    Wild are her songs, wild are her imaginations For in the midst of hungry bleating sheep She could make songs that lift the soul ****** Taste of dew on the morning grass excites the herd So that they call out in ecstatic joy to the shepherd And she, noting the excitement, played hee wooden guitar…

  • September’s Love poem

    Time taught us love and to hold, With same time we grow old All that remain will be memories Of you, me: our happy, sad memories

  • Poetale: The house outside the city, Part 1

    In a tiny house on the hills of the East Far, far away from any town or village A poor man and his seven little sons lived, The house door opened straight on to the hillside And all around were moorlands and huge stones And swampy hollows, never a house nor much human activity Wherever…

  • Muse: Imaginations

    First, it is good to know everyone has got the ability to imagine Whether you keep thoughts of failure or dream of a great win, All is possible and our minds must accept that which it is fed with Now if you must fly watch the Cranes, watch also the clouds, If you must swim…

  • August evening rain

    There’s this joy that comes with event of an evening rainfall It brings life to the playground so the children make most if it Also, it softens the days fatigue, putting mild and cozy air in the heat The rain water serve as a natural bath, which washed garments and bodies The children dance joyfully…

  • Musing: The Hills top

    I stand at the top, savoring this freedom Oh hear me, hear me sweet Freedom! I see the happy white clouds sail away, I see the black hawks circle above me, I hear the sound of talking, of machines, of the wild, altogether! I see mother Natures great painting tablet, I see the town and…

  • The cry of Harvest

    Harvest seasons are pretty lovely times For wheat turn pale, then glitter like gold And roses grow even redder with the heat If the strong winds stayed a little more time Then the lawn will be filled with stray fruits; So birds with rodents will make a dish of some At each sunset, the farmers…

  • Musing: Singina likes my Tales

    “I remember your funny and lovely tales”, she yawned She continued: “You complete my day with your poems!” At first I wasn’t sure of what I did exactly,  But as a shepherd I find pleasure writing away Telling of my travels, of my long days and how it ended Now, tomorrow I shall tell you…

  • The Hills of Isuikwuato

    1.  See these monuments standing to salute, to greet the great and small,  From the top, the tree branches wave their way through the wind And down below, their roots, like men’s arms pop out of the ground Across the skies, just above the hills, light blue clouds abound 2.  Mushrooms are the landlords, they…

  • My birthday! 

    Is it not amazing I was born on 8.24AM of August 8th, 198X? I have all 8’s. Happy Poetic Birthday to me! 

  • The Path

    Many walked the path, many might never return Before the days go dry, the town will be half empty Many sought the way to gold, with so much energy That the essence of life itself is lost to the cause The outsides of the town show signs of wealth;  Just by the gates the green…