Oke’s Musings: Poetry, People and Places

Category: Uncategorized

  • The Traveler

    The traveler is like the sun Which traverse the length of the Earth And seen her peoples and foods and cultures The traveler is like a blast of the wind Which blow cold at times and hot The flying dust is a glad companion The traveler is like the compass Looking for the North pole…

  • Hospitality as Love

    Genesis 18.2 The world can only stand when we learn to love The culture and philosophy of live and let live Teaches us to live while letting others live Let the Eagle perch, let also the Kite perch None should forbid the other from perching The love we give returns to us in some other…

  • Amuse: Poetale of a town boy

    I have become the village belle Just that in fact, I am not a girl Nene was so good in eulogizing me She sang of my praises even when I did nothing She told the villagers about my escapades in the city She told them of my big eye glasses and how it fit my…

  • A far country

      On crossing the imaginary line in my minds eye I see a country far away, farther than the length of the earth Where the strong breezes of the ocean glide with the passing cloud And the waters are troubled each time the breezes came The dawn break high up the brown morning cloud And…

  • A muse: Heavy evening rain

      And now it rains with thunder The hand of Cold had come for her asunder, Come let us see the rains fall by the window Let us dance in the rain and have fun while we can Surely, the heavy rain has come to sow And her many seeds are spread across the land…

  • Smile for me African child

    Smile for me beautiful child Show me your joyful face Let me see your beautiful smile Come now, do not be shy Let me see your joy Let me see the little dimple And the lines of your face As they straighten up for a smile! Smile for me beautiful African child Do not mind…

  • The Storm is Over

    Continue in prayers -Colossians 4.2 Never lose hope when you see the storm come Never say never before before the day breaks For what seems to be the end might just be the start Of something fresh,  new and beautiful And after the cold winter comes the warm summer The clouds might leave the day…

  • It’s World Teacher Day

    Teachers create a civilization through their every day activities. Now by teachers I mean everybody who give out knowledge to others in any way or any form, not just the school teachers. I know someone out there will agree with me that teachers are awesome. I might not write a loving poetry to tell you…

  • African desire

    My land is green Africa, my Africa Together we win, My humble desire   Your arms are long like the bamboo weed The smoothness of the riverside air sooth it The hornet, the weavers all spread your seed And with joy, we come to you to inherit   Your moments are fun, beautiful, we are…

  • Muse: Unabhangigkeit Nigeria!

    We are that patch of hope That grow like the jute rope And we are the sunlight, We are a mild climate We are the Cassava We are Enyimba We are the Jos Plateau Having mornings and dew, Evenings and the moonlight We are the bees and the locust We are a culture Of enterprise,…

  • Psalm: Father, I thank You

    Father I thank You I thank You for the airs come to me For the light and colors my eyes see I thank You for the noises of people I hear And the garments You gave me to wear The cloud wore a white garment The future we see is very bright The earth herself…

  • Waiting for the Rain

    We are baked in the sun While waiting for the rain, But now she remembered us The clouds has been moody and we knew she must surely cry now she wept, throwing rain water All over the little hamlet Now I claim the first drop And you claim the next drop Oh look up and…

  • Poetale: The Musk Rat

    Prologue: There was this tale my old granny told the children She will always say “Listen my children, listen.” And we; little, full of curiosity will look up patiently Then it was usual before each tale to play about In the strong moon light which swept the garden In between the plays, we wrestled and…

  • Smiley

    I like you to blow out laughing Turn around and see me make a face I like to see you smile The pains in my heart go soothed away I want to see the curves of your mouth dance to the lyrics of my daydream But call me names if you would Call me the…

  • Beauty and Beautiful

    Ecstacy is beauty It is a feeling formed to feel A scent, a wish, a moment A flower, a dinner, a kiss maybe Which undescribable, won’t stay For it is just a sweet mirage Like a fine deer on the forest, In the quiet hunting season The deer ate thru yellow hay And when the…

  • Let the World Sing…

    Let the world fall before Thee, The One who rule the Earth and the Sea And drags the wind like as a child will his toy The plants You let germinate on the grey soil With Your great hand You made man in Your image And yet You made the fullness of the Earth man’s…

  • Myrrh: A song of Oke Iroegbu

    I want to sing of the butterfly That roam the green garden Happily she glide with the air Watching the sun shine in the noon And waiting to fly to other lands Where the sunflower glows when the sun shine I want to sing of undying hope The harbinger of light, smokeless Like an infinite…

  • Poetale: Three Memories

    Okay I recall vividly when I was younger and I wore skirts cos I forgot to get some trousers for the long holidays and I traveled to place where I couldnt get trousers or shorts. Then I played with other kids wearing skirts like the Scottish, just that I had no pipe to play. I…

  • The Zoo

    Sunny, lazy Sometimes muddy Full of weary trees Tree stumps And overlapping tree branches The green and brown mix, Part of the enclosures. Quiet in the noon In the heat of the day And the hustle of survival The streams are green with mold And the pathways are sticky with mud But the fun of…

  • The Nomad

    As the twilight came I took a walk for some air And down the roadside I went There stood a young man Bearded heavily like myself Throwing corn seeds into his mouth And grinding them with such relish That his brown teeth showed in the process He stood by our fence And I decided to…

  • Breezy Evening

    This evening is quite exceptional No stars, no fireflies, no light No torch, just a quiet darkness And a sweet surge of sweet wind The clouds are dark and light And upon it the lightning flash Now and then, sparks of white Stray through the firmaments Raindrops fall slowly, quietly She seem to travel light…

  • The song of a Methodist

    Our job is to praise You Bring down Your glory The trees bow before You Your works are Beauty The wind is Your messenger The clouds like a fog to You Nothing compares to Your power Nothing is greater than You Little is the whole Universe to You Decorated with fine firmaments You make the…

  • The Commonwealth Annual Short Story Competition 2017

    The Commonwealth Annual Short Story Competition call for submissions. We’re delighted to let you know that the 2017 Commonwealth Short Story Prize is now open for entries. The closing date is 1 November 2016. The prize is for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000-5,000 words) in English; regional winners receive £2,500 and the…

  • Amuse: A High School Certificate

    Now I return to my hamlet With a high school certificate From the Government College And to the amazement of my people And welcoming of the King himself! I march down with my long socks And my pants which is torn everywhere As the crowd sang me a victory song Even the Kings daughter herself…

  • Tale: The Animal King: Confusion and Disunity

    Gather now… Come closer Warm your hands, sit near the fire It is a cold evening, is it? Now pay attention to this poetale I hope it helps warm you up And trust it prepares you for a fine sleep   Once upon a time In a land far away Across seven rivers And seven…

  • A Poetale: Night and the Wind

    Flirty Breezy wind of the south Woo my candle light Which danced like a mad man She paint the wall With the silhoutte of the light Drawing pictures of many objects Showing a magnified view of shapes Scary and gigantic. Titanic! The curtains are thrown up At each blast from the wind And her underwears…

  • A muse: And Today I am Human First!

    1. ”Do you know why people miss it a lot? We love things and not people We love money and not someone We love machines and gadgets And will give those our time and concern While the world dies from human pain and poverty The world dies from neglect and carelessness So much machines are…

  • Arise in the morning, with commentary

    Morning is breaking, So is the sun upon the horizon On a day many will till And many will waste still The clouds grow and spread A blue apparition they made With scupltures on the wind And strange painting on the cloud The waking day beckons to all To everyone to work… Arise when it…

  • African Tradition: Calling upon the African rain storm

    ‘The land is hungry, so are my words… Let’s make it rain… Let’s flood the dry earth and let the ink flow again!’ Now I seek to hear the sound of the rain fall Yes let it rumble through the clouds Like the stomach of a child about to purge The vegetations here attest to…

  • Ogbor Hill

    She sprawled across the breadth of the land. She lay humbly Like someone listening to the Ocarina of time Wasting away to carefree and careless governments Losing the charm it was once known for And settling for lesser things and lesser people Ogbor hills abbatoirs lay with blood of sheep, pigs and cattle The river…

  • it’s about to rain

    Now here goes the first rain and wind storm of September… And it came like a quarel Throwing punches Holding each others throat and Blowing thru their fury noses On their path, they throw fine sand around Pulling the weak rooftops about Now the clouds blacken with each provocation The rain beat down like pellets…

  • I wish

    I wish I could smile forever Sometimes it does not come so I wish I was to pick comely flowers Out in the fields where grain grow I wish I could help the dying world Though it seems some wish otherwise I wish the nights are free of the cruel cold For those who have…

  • A muse: The Eclipse

    Today I woke hopeful Thinking about yesterdays news It is already past the hour And there is no eclipse here Hmmm… Maybe it is happening Somewhere, Vancouver or Siberia But here it seem like a saturday Not much traffic of people like before I told a friend of mine about this And she asked… ‘What…

  • Fly High September

    How time flies Memories fade too But wear a smile And always be good Sing a song Hum a tune Dance along Share a Coke The days turn to weeks The weeks to months And the future we seek But stay in Divine soothe The grace of God blesses It is a wonder And from…

  • August night poems

    THE NIGHT The night is full of fresh air One which come with the wind Talking of the Wind, she is irresistable Sweetly, comely to the flesh of men And a quick aid to the lullaby’s effort RAIN It seem it will pour heavily, sometime later For the Lightning had come to snap pictures Of…

  • Cold Rain in Uyo

    There was a rush of rainfall on the window side Accompanied by a burst of cold wind Which ate deep into the flesh of careless people And caught people in between the crossfire Of the cold wind and the torrential rain There was no ceasefire, whatsoever. No peace, no victor Just calm disaster. One accustomed…

  • A muse: Love

    Days pass to weeks weeks to months Roses grow to shrubs from greens to oranges The dawn to dusk path of life is made so; seasons come and go so do memories When it shines we remember the rain when it storms we remember the sun Nothing is absolute nothing will be perfect without love…

  • The Glass Wall, and a commentary on friendship

    The angered throw stones at the glass wall He shouts and curses, He yells and he faints But the glass wall sits and watches… Rain fall, the sun beat the weathered glass The smear of mud from passing vehicles, the sweat of palms … But the glass wall sits unperturbed The stain of ages passing…

  • Paper Poetry

    Shake off the fatigue The world waits to meet you The world waits to celebrate you Look beyond the dark skies Look beyond your heights Look beyond the rain and storm Look beyond the past dreams Hit the weakly cocoon Break the walls open Fly butterfly, fly away Never hesitate on your flight to glory…

  • African Inspiration

    I see inspiration. In our conversation, In the mornings we talk My pen grow fruitful Your memories take me places, to the peaks of African ranges and where the lion cubs stay I see the future Bright and blue, the clouds crystal clear Like spring water rushing in haste To other lands where the sun…

  • A Dying World

    Dear Diary there is too much pain in the world I do not believe everyone is evil, no In the midst of the crowd, there are very good people but they are very quiet and maybe scared they let the sick and evil ones destroy the world the world grows sick with each passing day…

  • Lullaby: African Good Night

    Have you ever been on the pathway to sleep And all you could see was circles spiralling twisting and falling like mild paintings on the wall? Strange as it seem… The queer songs of the night come alife the sweet tune of the frog choir across the road where the rain water log… And the…

  • Poetale: Drought Land, songs of Reality

    There was a land, somewhere in Africa Where the rain won’t come for a long time The people are lean from walking distances In search of streams or rivers But sometimes they get no water For Crocodiles lived in those rivers And they were always hungry, always! So the men went with local guns While…

  • A little Faith

    Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God …1st John 5.5 Here comes lines of cheer and wit Grown from experiences, from the heart A rule of success, everything perfect An elixir of healing for all round health A beacon to help a man…

  • Okechukwu’s Haiku

    The night came and went, but we are awake to Gods call Though the night brought darkness and bricks of wall To everyone, men and women, great or small Yet the love of God wakes with us to perfect us all Good morning from Africa!

  • Fallacy of love

    Dear Diary… When two hands merge, they stick together Lending, caring, hoping and loving The stream of cord bonding both Strictly fight for their loves survival Distractions sprout up the root of the creeping weed Tearing apart the bond that once lived happily I crave for some fresh air in the open I love to…

  • The Village chief

    There was a chief in the wild plains, A warrior and a leader of the clan He fought in the war of the White men And returned a warrior of other lands ” Igwe! Igwe o!! Igwe i ga adigide!”* The men of the clan always hailed him For he desired peoples praise than honor…

  • Clouds; Rain and Sunshine

    Have you thought of the Cloud, Of her dilemma with the Sun and Rain? Why the rain fall heavily or faintly Why it is gloomy and why it shines? RAIN: The wind fly mildly across the horizon Up the skies, were the birds watch men And the Sun with her warm heat shine Sometimes the…

  • Lullaby: A tale of the cold night

    Once upon a time… It was a night of bitter cold And snowy storms gathered, The weight of snow lay thick Upon tree leaves and branches The slopes wore a sore face For the ice cold winter air Was so cruel to the night The little lake was half frozen And the ducks flew away…

  • The Shepherds Tale

    The day ends with a big stress for David But to him, this was not any challenge As he walked thru the hamlet, near an inn, ‘Hello David! Come have a drink with men, Come and have some fun , will ya?’ A soldier yelled as David passed by ‘Oh no sire, I will be…