Oke’s Musings: Poetry, People and Places

Happy birthday to me

8-8-8* A happy birthday to me!

August 8, 2019
Let’s dance in the Rain

Let’s dance in the rain Throw me a handful Catch my water blow And throw me another Let’s play under the rain, Hides and seek Catch the rain drops And take your trophies!

August 7, 2019
Share my Dream

You shared my dreams For when I put my pen to a paper You were always there To turn my wishes to reality And all these while you stood by me Now, what more can I pray for? That I remain steadfast in your love

August 7, 2019
Cheerful Friends

Cheerful friends are much more, They contribute to our happiness And joy through their benevolence Memories of their actions Bring warm feelings and always soft, So we feel secured with their thoughts Cheerful friends are like young tendrils They grow with love and are selfless Even in one’s grieve, they bond to purchase When our…

August 7, 2019
Fatigue

Fatigue, I wonder why your name Is as you, Why you stress and bother me Even without an offense I wonder why you break my bones So that I may only feel limp And sit watching the hours fly by You tickle my nose, to mildly snore And breathed on me a heavy sleep

August 6, 2019
Muse: To the end of the Day

Towards the end of the day I shall lay my head on your thighs To behold the glittering stars

August 6, 2019
Introducing the African Folklore

Folklore are tales, legends, superstitions of a particular ethnic population. In Igbo and other African societies, story telling is unique, such that it is a passage to transmit the culture and tradition from one generation to another. These tales generally convey the history, messages and old knowledge. They are meant to teach morals and virtues…

August 6, 2019
Atmosphere of Love

Love can not be felt When there is strife, When the moods tell foul Love can not be felt When the sails are low Or the winds are hot Love can not be felt When egos are high When words are faint Love is a great virtue That requires selflessness Courage and understanding

August 6, 2019
Greatness

Greatness is not a virtue of wealth Nor beauty, nor fame Greatness lies in courage, in faith In change, to become With experience, wise Honest and compassionate

August 6, 2019
Rising Sun

1 I peered through my window pane The morning sun rose radiantly And from a distant plane A smile appeared so glowingly 2 Alas the golden sun arrives trifle shy With the clouds she sailed Growing above the valleys and heights And upon all who on Earth dwelled *** Commentary: This piece is a collaboration…

August 6, 2019
Tradition: Breaking the Igbo Kola nut 2 (Iwa oji Igbo)

Onye wetara oji, wetara ndu. Ndi be anyi ekelem unu oo. God, our tryst maker! Chinekem ke b’nigwe! One that holds the Earth with bare hands And causes the winds to soar where You wills My God, we have gathered once again to celebrate To enjoy the life which you have blessed us with! Nna…

August 5, 2019
Muse: The rains and wet clay

The smell of clay when wet Brings the feeling of life When heavy rains come The community is overjoyed And so the dry earth wakes With it, life becomes excited! The clouds turn dark As the rain grow stronger- With a great storm imminent The rain drops gather, Tripping happily into the big pots

August 5, 2019
Lust

1 Eyes brought low From the distance, Watched her go Steady glance Cutting through her And she was not aware 2 Cage your emotion Let love flow Desire, genuine Let it grow Like a tree planted By the poolside

August 5, 2019
Nnem (My Mother)

Nnem oma, my sweet mother My best friend! Onyem, m ji eme onu Daada! Thinking of you Gives me great joy! My first love, my creator! Ina enyem obi anuri, Ina akasim obi, I can not quantify this joy You are my blessing Nkechinyerem! Learn Igbo language here. *** Commentary: I think everyone should be…

August 4, 2019
Muse: Piece of me

I give you a piece of me To share in my personal joy, To share in my stories and tales I give you my time To prove how valuable you are, To record each second we live I give you a piece of me To prove to you how much I care, And how your…

August 4, 2019
In the Beginning

In the beginning God made man So that we could make poetry To teach and talk to our souls

August 4, 2019
Love enough for me

Glittering, You shone in the sun That is love enough for me

August 3, 2019
You hold the Winds

You hold the Winds In Your great hands! For from away we see her toil As she sail above grass and soil With swift sweet airs she bless Earth that is brown and the green grass Heavenly airs bless each new day When we kneel to pray

August 3, 2019
Morning sun

Spreading her white net, Morning wakes to her duties Gathering fresh scent From flowers and dew She casts upon the clouds Heavenly paintings A creation, perfect and mild One gift given to man

August 2, 2019
Global warming

Now if I have traveled with the wind And seen some parts of the world I would stop at warring cities to preach peace Stand under the tree to watch leaves fall quietly And there to hold hands that sink with pain Bring every shelter I may find so that love may gain On the…

August 1, 2019
A Tale of the Wild Woods: Cold world

When the last winter snow melted Several things had changed The tree leaves had less dew And the tree roots hid in the sand The skies were dark blue, Drawing images of floating clouds Few birds came sailing through the sky Larks, Swallows, Parrots and Cuckoos Danced in the clear skies And from the mist,…

July 31, 2019
End of the day

Fast falls the evening tide Birds fly home With the clouds they went Traveling with the setting sun Airy winds bring nostalgia Birds call to one another Enjoying the day end Scent of wet clay Mixed with rotten veggies Fill the market square Home calls darlin’ And to you I return

July 31, 2019
Mirror

Look through me See the glitter, On my face Feel the curves Of my ruddy face Let my gaze Be your mirror For all I think I’m not my skin

July 30, 2019
Gather the Harvest

Throw the harvest to the air Catch the tumbling beans Let the wind take the chaff Break the nuts Gather the hops Let the sun bake them And in the morning Brew an African beer!

July 30, 2019
Moonlight

Spherical white gold With memories impressed, Up the dark skies Riding on the clouds And sometimes to stand To light the woods, And the vales and heights Creating bold- Caricatures of trees, Images of the land The moon light Gives illumination To the world at night So the clouds may glow white

July 29, 2019
Knowledge

I search through stacks of books Panting, tired, worried I wait for the rising sun, Riding across the skies To give some heat, some inspiration But yet it was elusive Seeming to change With each new day For when the sun came It brought news of it And before now in my search I created…

July 24, 2019
Muse: I am hu-man

I was not carved from stone I am not a sculpture Or painting of any kind I live in a civilized culture I eat much food And live in a town I dream of the woods I dance when no one is watching And I may be different from you I may see things differently…

July 22, 2019
Muse: Green

Nature’s blood Blooming Life’s culture Sweet airs And a host of pretty views Trees- Oxygen tanks Green is man’s hope If he desire not to end up swinging from a rope

July 22, 2019
Ubochi taa (Today) : Igbo Love poem (Abu ihunanya)

Ubochi taa Anam ede nke a I gwa gi otu ubochim siri ga I maram ka onye na achi aturu Marakwa na enweghim ihe niile ichoro Ubochi niile anam akpahara ohia Na acho ihe aturum ga eri I mara na enweghi ihe na enyem Obi uto karia ndu mkpachara anya O bu nke a kam…

July 22, 2019
Life is green

Life is green She goes beyond the hustle bustle Of towns Of great machines Life is the flock Grazing Gracefully Away from human want

July 18, 2019
Muse: I wonder

I wonder why we pleasure in strife Why we derive joy in profits In expense of the dying earth And why we must sell weapons To cause more sorrow and pain *** We chose paths of darkness and destruction Even as Nature tries to guide us right Now the greedy may sit at costly parks…

July 9, 2019
Zingina

Zingina, this song is for you The pretty young maid You that sets our village on fire, Fire of desire and lust You whose dance paint many pictures On the minds of hungry men The village square is your stage And when the drums go beating You throw your arms up the sky, Twist your…

July 3, 2019
Muse: Cymbals

I fail when I break your rule Be rest assured I still love you For even when the sound of drums and bass guitars go faint Your peaceful cymbals still play down the sorrow in my heart

June 26, 2019
Harvest season

Here at the close of the day Everyone comes to the hay To dance and clap To behold the golden wheat And grains waiting for the whip The fields are littered with baskets Occasionally the clouds grumble To remind the folk of the rainy season And in the evening wind, baskets tumble Exposing the grains…

June 22, 2019
Waterfalls

Listen to Nature sing from the waterfalls, She thrashes her garments upon the rocks And wash them with very soft palms She sends soft waters crashing into the pool Watching the blue skies as her fingers work When the waters descend they form Curtains of white mist And when the waters touch the pool below…

June 17, 2019
Summer

Summer rides through the little forest, Desiring to warm and wake every creature It saved in the heart of trees that flourish On the tarred roadside, a sweet aura of air That kept both faun and flora intrigued! ** Image by David Thomas Martins, a friend and a great painter poet.

June 13, 2019
Muse: Nature’s Art

Night rains are ways mother Nature tell her wonderful stories From the curtains dance one can feel the strength of the rain And the routes of her accomplice; the wind Further away from homes, if you dare to look One can see the wind dressing the trees hairs Decorating the trees with every piece of…

June 7, 2019
The Messengers Gong

Kororom! Kokokorom!! Korokorokom!!! The gong went off, disturbing the peace of the hamlet A strange silence descends as the rhythm died down The evening was cold, sweet breeze from the big river Made the hamlet cozy and sometimes snores rent the air Stubborn children turn good For their parents had threatened To report them to…

June 3, 2019
Musing: Traveler

By the foot of the hills he stood to look back Waving to images, thin from the long distance I was among those thin images that stood afar Watching as he disappeared from our glance He had left stories in our mouths and hearts Taught us that we must leave the quiet village, To learn…

June 2, 2019
Remember me

I remember your stories Of bombs and guns Of decimated hills and homes And broken dreams and destinies! I remember the thunder that broke backs That tore the roof off our homes And brought hardship upon babies I remember you the victor Who took our children And made them men, Men which became slaves And…

May 30, 2019
King David

Ruddy And with palms strained from playing The guitar He walks home with the happy flock Gentle was his walk Joyful was his apparition So he recalled his adventures The songs he sang under the Sycamore The bear he expelled And the lion he killed Diligently he led the sheep Guiding them Without knowledge of…

May 27, 2019
Muse: Humble Home

Even when the sun set far away from you It gives me joy to remember my humble home *** There’s a place in my mind where my eyes desire, Where my heart rejoice when I behold her beauty The mornings bring abundant joy to me And the evening is a delight I long for Sometimes…

May 25, 2019
Two poems: You remind me and the Owl

You remind me You remind me of the sunshine Dimples on your face like the half sun Surface when you smile You have become my pretty sunshine The one whose face reminds me of the sun * The Owl Dark nights are your playground. You steal through the quietness Striking the air with great talons…

May 25, 2019
Another Shepherd lore

There are memorable thoughts that goes each night As the lonely shepherd lays on his bed of soft wool The days stress comes calling by, dragging each moment with it Expressing to the shepherd how the day went, rough or smooth From his bed he must see the stars glittering above the night And with…

May 20, 2019
Love song: When you smile

I remember the first time you looked at me I watched my feet dance in my long walk I knew the celebration that came from love that stayed a while *** I remember the first time you smiled at me I felt my heart dance and rejoice I was happy ’cause your smiled touched a…

May 20, 2019
Waiting for the Sun

It may seem the days are dark and blurry For the lively sun sleeps Time goes by drawing sheets of boring moments Faces portray gloom, the firmaments make it even worse Even the little rabbits, birds and butterflies that glide About the wonderful landscape hid from the valleys Sweet flowery scents are stifled in the…

May 18, 2019
The Song in me

…Your love are the unwritten lyrics in me Even when the cymbals and bass pause You light my soul with very sweet music!

May 13, 2019
Muse: Young Lion

I like to think myself as a young lion Traveling the great grassland With no fear or foe But courage and wisdom I like to think myself an umbrella Floating above the firmaments Wrapping my warm tentacles About the cold, weak and lonely I like to think myself as the rain That flood the fertile…

May 11, 2019
May

May symbolizes every good thing life offers It is the time of the year many flowers blossom Sweet fruits bless the human taste Vegetables provide the greens needed Great wild winds ride the firmament While the rains wash off the dusty plains Upon the wild flowers that grow on the roadside Many insects gather to…

May 2, 2019
Spring water

When there was love I saw the white clouds Crystal clear Like the sweet spring Leaping in joyful haste To lands that thirst For the life-giving water

April 28, 2019