Oke’s Musings: Poetry, People and Places

Category: Poetry

  • I am loved

    I remember the first time we crossed and how we looked at each other It seemed the whole world stood for a minute in my light brown eyes My heart beat drums when I sit close to you, my mind takes flight, away The world is dead to me, I keep wondering how happy I…

  • Under the Tree shed

    Smell of humus and dusts mixed with moist brought the joyful crowd,  Small mounds of Earth with shrubs rising from them surround the tree To the coming night the evening breeze surf about, grazing her flock As soft fragrance from the nearby roses scent the arena, gathering bees Evenings are welcomed with smiles for it…

  • August mornings

    I have seen tree leaves twist in the air, as they dance to meet the earth Brown, some red, some still green; but all rushing to touch the ground The floor is littered, a gathering of old and fresh tree leaves lay on the dirt And why they fall, they won’t say, but when they…

  • Isuikwuato

    One wakes to the call of Nature everyday, with the sun ushering the day Huhuhu-lalala-kiki, all sort of songs welcome the sun’s golden streaks Crickets quiz, wasps and bees buzz, snakes hiss away, the clock ticked Familiar sounds echo, strong wind rushing through the high tree lines Underneath the vegetation, silent waters flow, but we…

  • The Countryside

    Evening airs bring blessings to the sleepy hamlet The cute hut chimneys churn out thick smoke And the smoke scatter once they meet the wind The smoke suggest cooking food; fresh cabbage With cooked brown beans and fried Salmon Which was caught in the early morning, Just off the hamlets quiet but great rivulet The…

  • Poetale:  The Traveler and the Witch’s lair

    There came a traveler weak and weary,  Fatigued with the heavy bag on his back And many tiny stones inside his shoes In his bag he carried a guitar for he could play well He fainted slowly, clinging closely to his life,  Hoping to see an inn or a well for water For he had…

  • Muse: The Rising Sun

    When mornings come, it blankets the Earth with her mist Then the bees must search for nectar as the flowers wait,  The green and yellow hoppers stay in the sun, patient  Eating the full of the land; munching at the wheat Unconcerned, if the farmer will have enough to harvest Then the warmth of life…

  • The Castle called a man’s Heart

    Have you heard or seen the dens or prisons where free men were kept?  If not, let me tell you about it, about the little details which no man told First, those men put their trusts in imaginations and false hopes  Clinging to the mirror, others casted for them for self discovery The colors they…

  • Lafia

    Lafia when I looked up I saw you, I saw life I saw tomatoes squashed and gutted by the roadside And some tall mallams washing their legs and hands,  With their faces to the sun, preparing for the evening prayers,  I raised my eyes further, towards the East And lo, the route to home was trooping…

  • Nature’s Forest

    Take me to the quiet streamside, where no mans traverse, disturbs Take me to the land, where my eyes see the beauty of your love The sound of swooshing forest trees bring peace  Actually there is no name for such queer tranquility,  The amusement provided by the choral forest enchants And the sight of slow…

  • Biafran Babies

    I heard your songs soar through the thick forests, through the fields But the wind hid the song, your voice and your face from the world You were told to keep quiet, but if the hunger won’t let you from crying out Daada will have to drop you, so that the soldiers won’t find our…

  • Folk: the Warrior’s song

    They call me Dike, yes! I ran the thorny forest barefooted, Even as the rough hills stood  I danced in the strong heavy rain When the thunder graced the storm Dike na Dimgba! Odogwu!! The one who fetched firewood from the land of the spirits And threw the deity’s messenger in a wrestling match I…

  • Colors

    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……

  • Amuse: The Hen’s tale

    First she walks for a while and then turns to stare… She cackles, laughing at the appearance of these slim aliens Wandering about, aimlessly, pushing all manner of carts  And wearing all manner of fleshy things that smell awful One thing is peculiar: these humans change their skins each day, And it is unclear why…

  • Blood in the fields

    Blood is in the streams, Blood is in the fields, Blood no longer flow in my system Blood flow happily in lands Where they once swore to protect I thought that blood was meant to flow in me But when I looked down I saw blood trickle out of me I searched for a stream…

  • Night Rain

    The night rain came swift with the surging wind, These two brothers raced through cold and cloud, Then the town center was left deserted, the road lonely But in the midst of it all, the neighborhood slept happy.

  • The Hamlets’ songs

    Tonight I write of a beautiful countryside Nested in the forests, at the foot of hills in the East, A quiet place that taught me the songs of Nature And fed me with fruits fresh from all blooming trees! * In the morning, fine birds gather to build nests Their strong choral concert disturb the…

  • Muse: Strings of Love

    Will you know true quietness when you see one? Sure, I have heard the Pines sing a decade old song I have felt the touch of Agape’s own hands on my soul, I have watched as the waters rushed thru the stream And I have listened to my heart play strings of love * Your…

  • Muse: The Storm

    When the clouds turned greyish black with the ending day, What we didn’t notice was that the night came with a price And the price was a storm which we were unprepared for We dined, we enjoyed the sweet airs that the breezy night brought But when the first crack came; it was a shocker…

  • Another Tale of the WildWoods

    i Once upon a time, the night was cold and the snow lay thick on branches, On the forest lands, the road and the pathways leading to the village The cold gripped the whole community of fauna and flourishing flora, As the day ended, the night became alive with howls, hoots and screeches ii The…

  • Ina murna (I’m excited) 

    The snaky road twisted, here and there Passing pockets of forests tucked away, And when it ended at the foot of Ugwu Uwaoma I saw the palm trees lead a welcome song At the foot of the hill a banner hung Bearing Mama’s poster and details… *** Now I stand before thee, oh great hill…

  • Call me Summer 

    Call me summer; my days are sunny and hot,  And in the forage you shall find, sweet fruits riped.  I give tastes of fresh salmon cooked in coconut oil And a drink of wine to toast to the mild island heat  * Call me summer for I plait the hairs of the palm trees I…

  • The rainfall

    i.  See the rain drops fall,  Throwing a rain party for all!  The clouds wailed this evening But to the children it was fun ii.  Under the rain, children danced Enjoying the freedom that it brought  Lightning shadows on windows, mild cold But men hid themselves under the blankets iii.  The clouds sang, the wind…

  • Tales from the Giraffe

    Oh lovely tower! You stand above roofs and trees And graze on the wild Savannah You nibble at fresh tree leaves,  And the whole land is yours!  You visit our streams, majestically You stray through the quiet village And stole all attention to yourself  * Nights are for the folk tales,  Stories groomed in the…

  • Flying to summer 

    There’s a symphony of joy!  Roaring up the bright skies,  Emissaries of the aging day Graceful flights to Africa!  * Floating above the countryside  Leaving the fresh, green fields Above the endless forests Keeping hope ahead * Each journey is an unknown promise,  Somewhere between joy and heartache.  But they must fly, the fair geese…

  • Death of a masquerade

    When the cocks wake the clan in the morn with their calls I remember you, your memories are like my room walls  First, I must congratulate you for not dying completely  For telling us why we must abandon the village for the city,  For leaving the clans people with only strands of what you did, …

  • Musing:  The Railroad 

    Iron metal Crisscrossing  Dragging through the dust Like the snake, iron snake.  Tracks lay ahead as far as our eyes go,  Crawling through the urban and rural;  The countryside with her quiet forest  The township with her hustle bustle  The clouds are free of you They watch your snake lanes Cockroach through rocks and tunnels…

  • The Legend of Wawadomea

    Verse 2: Cannibals of the East 2 The sunset drew a picture Which had lived with me For all my younger life A strange uproar heartfelt It was aye, very strange That aye, I mean I Will be amongst this lot This people forsaken kind of clan Living the life of a sea pirate Out…

  • Folktale: The Animal King

    Gather now; come closer Warm your hands, sit near the fire It is a cold evening. I have a folktale for you, And I hope it prepares everyone for a good sleep. Ifochakpi! Waa!! Once upon a time In a land far away Across seven rivers And seven hills Lived a clan of animals Then…

  • The Pathway

    Maybe I am lost, lost in the quiet Plantain forest Following a trail of leaves, to a place where I know not Maybe I am found, searching for my way to the top Walking hopefully to a place where better tree ropes drop * Maybe the path led to the dreaded Crocodile river Or to…

  • Folk: Under the Mango tree

    1 Breezes and dreams are gifts of Nature to the hardworking villagers,  After a days heavy toil in the fields of corn, yam and sweet cassava The men gather to drink the palm wine in the inn located by the mango tree,  Heavy talks lead to soft talks as the beer sank into the days…

  • Three musings:  Evening, wet Earth and Love

    One: The evening tide Fast falls the evening tide So gather around the fireside, Let us savor this taste of Nature;  Her soft songs, breezes and lecture Two: The wet Earth The sun set before our eyes The wet earth is left to dry For the days heavy rain has left And with her, all…

  • I Dream

    I dream Of you You I knew not…  1 I see the smoke mold your face,  I feel your fingers pull my face softly away To the sight where rivers met and fought I feel the breeze whisper your names,  Excitement won’t let me keep memory of it And when I look up, it was…

  • Natures Tale: The Sun rays

    * Take a walk in the woods,  Dive into the envelope of tall tree branches Admire the tents that Nature erected Savor the teasing of fresh airs And watch the sun rays streak through the tree leaves 1 The canopy hides the shrieks and tweets  Of birds and rodents  Creepy amphibians croak out their hearts…

  • Joy

    Your song echo’s in my mind Cascading into soft musings Dancing in my heart,  I stare without words But my hands tap away with joy

  • Dead ivory 

    First it was horror,  Watching a breath simmer quietly away Staring at the sight that her memory must stay And then, then the full reality sets in Today the useless tusk must rot with the carcass The body a meal to billions of worms, But the body and tusk, both are gone, wasted  Tears are…

  • Evening Storm

    Now the wind has come to announce the rains coming,  Baskets flew up, rooftops shrieked, dogs ran about And the community waited, for a storm was growing,  The nights grew darker, pitch like the face of charcoal At first, the moon had disappeared without trace The clouds forming a strong ring of bully about him…

  • When there was love

    When there was love, I saw the cloud Clear as crystal, like the sweet spring Leaping in joyful haste to other lands,  Oh happy water, hissing away, joyfully Tumbling off rocks, falling from heights * Now I sit musing over the fast flowing stream Two things wont ever come back, water and time! 

  • Bamboo house

    You have given us shelter and warmth,  You have given us memories  And reasons to smile…  * When sons of men laughed at your appearance then Those wild boys threw stones and the earth pots broke,  We hid in you at first afraid but later mocked their fruitless fight,  But you, you stood bold and…

  • Set my sail

    1 I set my sail to your heart dearest gold I hope to sail till my strong hands grow old,  To lands where the flower nectars bust And we glad that the blue ocean sail with us 2 I set my sail to your dream, my puppet I hope to dance with you as the…

  • Tradition: The African beer

    But there is one taste that Africa is known for,  This natural liquid drawn from the palm Sweet as the taste of sleep after a hard days labor Whitish, an admired mess for the tired old and young Mmanya, the older men’s African honey The drink for all, Natures perfect brew Now we drink to…

  • Musing:  Stressful Days

    1 Stressful days take away the joy in my evening meals With back aches and a weakened body I struggle to feed When the day is spent and my thoughts long for my needs,  The stress will then set in; feverish and broken feelings 2 Before this noon, I have had some tea and milk…

  • The Sea 

    #i The soft waves wash those shores,  Flying fishing birds, cry up in the skies And dancing algae surfed the waters All defining the exotic blues visible #ii But what do we know about the depths,  What is beyond the sands of the beach?  For when the sun shine, all glittered But the waters danced…

  • Amuse: The sunset 

    Sometimes I do think the sun was angry when she was hot People hide underneath the tree branches, some throw down mats And in few minutes they snore out there fatigue without remorse They blow trumpets, letting their mouths wobble in defeat Yet I wonder if by chance the suns heat was responsible,  As her…

  • Family

    1 Family is love, family is the birth place of love It is a wake of faces; staring, admiring, loving A bed were we fight with pillows some times And a glimpse of hope in the darkest of nights 2 Family is that look through the eye of a loved one Family is the noise…

  • Sunrise up the Forestlands 

  • Folklore: Let’s play under the Moon light

    I.  Breezes of your presence come to me each evening, with mild rosy fragrance  The voice of the wind sing with you when you sang of the Nightingale and her lover  And now it is our tryst, one we waited upon, the one we craved when the sun was here II.  Now we make haste,…

  • Once upon a time… 

    Once upon a time you preferred the silence to my love Then trees leaves fell, they fall quietly and so you went Once I held your hands in deep love and we walked the paths,  And you told of our future but now you will not see me anymore We played together, you were my…

  • Musing: Observing you

    I look upon your face, it shone in the night moon light In the darkness, where many bodies shuffled about Dancing, drinking, talking, calling, shouting, but I only heard you But will you let this light you bring shine in my heart, will you?  The fine curve of your pouting mouth make me weak When…

  • A Note: Welcome to January, 2018

    Please welcome to a brand new year! It’s 7.20AM here as I write. Last year has been a blessing in my journey of the pen, I believe strongly this year will be much better.  I hope your dreams and aspirations come thru this year. I hope we all have reasons to celebrate.