Oke’s Musings: Poetry, People and Places

Tag: Africa

  • Every man is King…

    In Africa it is believed that every man is a King (in his house). Here is an image of an African child having fun sitting on his throne of bricks.

  • Diary of a Village Boy: The Leopard Spirit 4 (Headhunters 2)

    One of the men unsheathed his shiny machete while the others looked on. I stopped in my tracks, thinking wearily. Were they indeed, headhunters? Maybe they are hunting for slaves for, in those times, the slave trade was booming. If they were none of those, why would they be blocking my way with machetes? Strange…

  • The Baobab

    I tried drawing this evening and this is what I made. I call it the Baobab tree. The Baobab is an iconic African tree. It’s a symbol of the African Savannah that can survive in arid regions. The wood, barks, leaves, fruits and roots serve as food, drugs and raw materials for man and animals.…

  • Destiny Community School, Zambia

    Doctors, accountants, lawyers… These are just some of the dreams of the students at Destiny Community School in Zambia. These underprivileged students love going to school. Help them continue their education. As you’ll see, they have bright hopes and dreams for their future. #GivingWay

  • Love

    Every child deserves to be loved. Children can be at their best selves when loved and would reciprocate this act while growing. So if love is lacking in the society, it may be that people failed in their first duty to love. A man who lacks love was once a child who knew no love!…

  • Say it now: for Yemeni children

    Say not your voice has no power, For we listened and heard you speak from radios, And you spoke of many things, that helped not dying souls They say humanity is not defined by guns nor skin But look at kids wallow in great pain for no reason Look not another way while we die…

  • African Proverbs 14

    Consider this proverb from Ethiopia; The mouse is silent while laboring, but when the baby is conceived, she cries.

  • African Wildlife: Bongo

    Bongos might be the largest antelope in Africa, but they are very timid. They scare easily and will run away and hide when frightened.

  • Haiku: Evening tide

    Fast falls the evening tide, Kids play on tree branches Squirrels watch from holes

  • Friendship

    There’s always a companion for everyone. There’s someone to confide in and share issues of life with. Friendship is characterized by love, sympathy, kindness, loyalty, generosity, forgiveness, altruism, mutual understanding, compassion, trust and ability to be oneself and to express one’s feelings.Even Africa’s wild agree that everybody needs a companion, a friend. Do you agree?…

  • African Proverbs 13

    The moon and the stars are not above us, the Earth is on the other side of our feet. -Moroccan proverb

  • A haiku of the night

    Howls and barks from sad dogs, Full moon, cold grips the quiet night When silhouettes walk the lonely streets

  • Happiness 2

    Here is an image of happy African children riding their wheelbarrow. Happiness is free. 😊 Do you find joy in simple things?

  • Happiness

    A saying goes that for every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness. Also, there’s nothing like deep breaths after laughing that hard. Nothing in the world like a sore stomach for the right reasons. I learned that contentment grows happiness and joy bears no grudge, considers not mistakes or failures. Consider…

  • Herd of Elephants

    A group of Elephants is called a herd. Elephants are herbivores and peaceful animals. Sometimes writers call them “Gentle Giants.” They are found all over Africa and are territorial. Elephants are social animals and love mud bathing. Most of their day is spent grazing. Their diet include barks, tree leaves and roots. Here’s an advice:…

  • Haiku: Tropical Fantasies

    Sun rays, sea breezes; gold and blue fantasies, Twilight muse from clouds when evenings approach Noisy monkeys play beside the raffia palm forest

  • AWF: Manyara Ranch Conservancy

    From a mismanaged cattle ranch to a prime wildlife area. When African Wildlife Foundation began operating Manyara Ranch Conservancy, poaching was rampant in the area. Now, the 45,000 acre ranch is a well maintained wildlife corridor between Tanzania’s Tarangire and Manyara National Parks. Video from African Wildlife Foundation.

  • Diary of a Village Boy: The Leopard Spirit 2 (Mazi Kenem & Spirit Animal)

    It was evening when I reached Mazi Kenem’s house. Dada had asked me to return a basket borrowed from the old man during the new yam festival. It was an old basket, most of the raffia used to weave it was damaged. The evening breeze and cloudy skies painted a vague but hopeful imagery in…

  • African Proverbs 8

    What do you make of this Ovambo saying? A Parasite can not live alone.

  • Haiku of the Morning

    See these sparkle of gold Brew bubbles across the clouds, While they sail away to other lands

  • Don’t Cry

    Now listen dear child, listen attentively To the forested hills, for they are your ancient brothers To the birds, they carry gossip and might have answers Watch the sunrise and sunset from tree branches Search the valleys too, let your eyes behold our land Feel the flowers with your finger tips Smell the caking dust…

  • Three Poems: The Waterfalls, Peace and Your Love

    The Waterfalls: I tell the trees of your sounds and they are jealous When you fall, birds and the wild stop to listen, To hear Nature sing while she wash her garment in your mist Peace: Bird songs, butterflies, sun rays and peace, All are fruits from the green forest, Nature’s providence to mankind Your…

  • African Proverbs 5

    He who shows himself at every place will someday look for a place to hide. Explanation: Anyone who is always available to everyone will find it hard to keep a private life.

  • Self-Control: The Fox and the Crow

    How is everybody today? What are you guys reading for the weekend? I’m compiling a new reading list, anyone willing to share or suggest a book? It’s almost bedtime here, but sleep can wait. I’m trying to study my guide to scholarship application. I have this bedtime tale to drop before I retire for the…

  • Muse: Evening Rain

    Listen… Hear the clouds rumble, for it rains again Soft breezes from the quiet evening Come drumming, mildly on the pan, The rooftop has got a companion Up this ancient forested hills The trees dance and twist To songs from the Winds tongues From the pond, the back-up frog choir get set, Waiting for their…

  • The African Palm Tree

    The palm tree is one of the strongest trees in the world. In tropical Africa, this plant grow wild, though it’s now cultivated. In Igbo land, the leaves, barks and roots is used to produce different kinds of medicine. The boiled seeds serve as food and the oil is used for cooking. The wood is…

  • African Myths 3

    Myths are believes that are not true. In Africa there are so many of them. Let’s have a look at some. In some parts of Africa, beating children with a broom is a curse. Flogging the girl-child with a broom may delay her marriage. 🤭 Do you know that breaking palm kernels anytime from 7PM…

  • Let’s Tour the Alkebulan by Abdurrazaq Mubaraq Adebayor

    Come walk with me to African blessed abode, To see the wondrous beauty the Earth has bestowed; We’ll bask in the surreal splendor that surrounds us, And listen to nature composing the streets hustle and bustle, As car honks and random disc jokey tootles across the street, Sending our minds wandering into a poet’s lovely…

  • Why you should visit Africa 2

    Do you find happiness and healing in natural things? Do you get inspiration from your natural environment? Do you like hanging out with the wild and getting blessed with views of a beautiful land? Maybe you love to watch the young deer gallivant through the Veldt. Then a visit to Africa will do. I, for…

  • The Lion King, with short video

    When you hear of Africa, what comes to your mind? Forests and Kingdoms, Lions and Elephants, Happy and sad people? I decided to share a live performance of the song ‘He lives in me’ from the movie Lion King, to show the artistry, talent and creativity that exists in Africa. Africans in the music and…

  • Why you should visit Africa

    If you are in rural Africa, when the sun set you will be very lucky to witness events that you may never see elsewhere in the world! The sun rise brings joy. Dew, Heavens water, congregate on the roof tops, tree leaves and grasses. The sun may stay for a while but can rise as…

  • Thoughts: Look Within

    Africa is scarred by pangs of unemployment. Things drift from bad to worse. Things like good education, health care, clean water and equal opportunity, seem to run from our grasp. These things may have fallen apart. What is the remedy to fix this trend? While African universities produce more graduates, the economy won’t be able…

  • Thoughts on Africa 2: Education

    The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the real goal of education. – Martin Luther King, Jr Education is vital for individual, community, and national growth. It is a key tool that can drive social, economic, and political transformation across Africa.…

  • Thoughts: Africa

    Don’t be overwhelmed by what you see. Stay calm in the raging storm Life has not been so fair to many. Sometimes it is easy to imagine from a safe part of the world, how people survive in war torn, disaster/disease stricken parts of Africa. We wake up in the morning to different news. Economic…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Two Musings; Your smile and African nights

    1. Your Smile Your smiles are wonderful, they tickle my soul It takes me to heights of love, brings me to joy When you smile, you remind me of the Rose The parting of your red lips a memory to behold In your beautiful warm smile I find an embrace It spoke of speeches untold,…

  • I am Nigeria

    You have smiles on your face Reminds me of my beloved siblings No need to see you thru your race You are you; one, unique and winning Igbo kwenu! Kedu, olee, how do you do? Come in, have a sit, taste this dish You come in peace, we surely know To you, all good things…

  • Africa: Retelling the story

    What if there was no love in me for you Africa…? I shrug, I will not think of it… I wonder which other songs are left for me to sing I wonder what can give me much joy for a better future And I thank God for this gift, for Africa, for the world For…

  • Note: Nature as an African

      Mother Nature is an African. I say this because I have seen why. Africa is unrivaled in wildlife species and variety. I have had an Ostrich tower over me back then in Ondo state of Nigeria and I have met the Hyena which could have passed for a demon with her red eyes 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…