Oke’s Musings: Poetry, People and Places

Tag: poetry

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Sunrise up the Forestlands 

  • 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…

  • Lullaby: Decembers’ rain

    Fast falls the evening, mild breezes, cold rain, rinsing the dusty roof tops Dark clouds shadow the moon, the evening is left to wander alone,  Trees bow to the swift wind; bending, twisting; left and right But the night was agog with life, the breezes an excuse for heavy sleepers A week before the heat…

  • Musing: The Ostrich

    1 To you my feathery friend, I write In the greying fields, your fur I sight Dangling by your sides are your wings Your neck is up, for a long time you sing 2 Caw caw, caw caw those are your favorite words The wind is your friend, the soil is your playground The shrub…

  • The Tomato’s tale

    And today I met this round twins and sumptuous looking tomato fruit By the side of the garden the plant grew, I haven’t noticed it till now 1. Hanging down from her stalk hopelessly like her weight was the plants burden Where the ants made an abode, in and out they traversed without care And hers…

  • The path to Harvest

    Joy is the fruit blossomed in the heart of the farmer His smiles are meshed with the days toil and sweat Patches of brown earth possess a part of his tired face On his shoulders he carries a huge basket with some tools And now it is harvest time…   Now the fields are ripe,…

  • The Rainbow, 1st

    1 The rainbow is my favorite color  Her beauty radiates upon the cloud Dressed like a man wearing a talisman Savoring the scent of the sweet airs,  A mirage because the rain won’t fall after all 2 There sits the rainbow across the firmaments Watching quietly, observing the rules of the airs Belittling the heights of…

  • Love Poems: My musing 

    See my musing for you, my Gold My heart goes to you my lovely one I whisper your name to the clouds From where the nights are born Your love is like the sweet grape wine It tastes as much as the kiss you gave For on your mild acquaintance, we dine Our tryst- out…

  • Morning Poem

    Lavenders,  gardens, the fair butterfly Gold, sun rising across the blue sky Quietness, serene green forest, birds calling Yawn, a kick and high hopes waking The warmth of the sun, glittering across the fields Buzzing bees, smooth sailing airs, some wildlife Smell of burning food, hawks hunting for food in the hamlet Warm airs rush…

  • Rain on the Window 

    I love the sound of the rain when it hits the windows When the multitude descend down from the Heavens Splattering, hitting the Earths crust, smashing the clay  Throwing up sweet scents, one unaccustomed to man The sounds create a regular rhythm which sings a lullaby Soothing are the rains words, mild are her amazing…

  • Muse: Morning in the rain season

    Here has become something else without much of the sun The wind takes her toil, she dances about with no care When the South forge towards the cold rainy season The queer climate of the evening is seen in the morning The mildness, softness of the wind makes all, everything cold, Even when the sun…

  • Sunrise in Enugu

    Alas the sun rise above the clouds Without the mild weather all seem hot Above the hills, greened with vegetation And roof tops, which brown is tanned The clouds blue upon the long firmament Draw very friendly and smiling apparitions One that will definitely see the sun set Birds fly, trees swoosh, the airs sing…

  • A muse: God’s Love

    Songs of the night, sweet lullabies for the days toil Messages from Heaven, refined touch of God’s goodness Whistling from the neighboring pines and wide eyed owls All call out to the quiet night, strange, quietly hopeful Dreams are cut out on plates of wet marble Left to dry out in the open sun, like…

  • Musing: The howling wind

    I hear the wind howl through the gaps, Through the minute holes which stayed in the walls Pushing, hissing it went, pushing the books on my laps Turning the pages without my consent, winning it all The wind disturb the happy quiet night Making the room look like a party hall While I tried gathering…

  • Tudun Amba, Lafia

    1 Sprawled across a fertile land, On a hill overlooking a quiet river Where the rains come once in a while And when it does, it is a fine luxury Trees stand, here and there Occurring once upon a place Grasses are seldom seen, the sand most often The palmwine* taste absolutely sweet But in…

  • Musing: Very Hello

    I wondered if I said hello If I would get a response Thinking of you is all I do Wait, listen to my heart call out to you Listen to my unsung songs ask for a dance Let me see your shy pout, this thing about you And your fine eyes as they lovingly bounce…

  • Natures Poem

    Tasty sops Golden sunshine Pretty flowers Buzzing bees All rent the words in me They define your love I see

  • Three Musings: Poetry, Walk in my Dreams and My Tree House Library

    1 Poetry Records; minutes of past and fun memories flood in, sad and happy Creating; nothing but me again and again, I rather be me still Poetry: one beautiful happy thing that gladdens me It dances in my soul, it is much my own, my freewill 2 Walk in my Dreams Yes, you told me…

  • The moon and night plays

    Yells, cries of children disturb the nights silence In the moonlight they dance, they play in the distance Casting shadows upon the lonely tree’d pathway Tumbling on sands, caring not for neither man nor scorpion They make figures, people and tall castles of clay Happily they yell, desiring nothing under the queer moon Meanwhile the…

  • Musing: Sweet and Sour

    Bent, folded I returned to my own self Baking in the euphoria of failed love itself Shivers accompany thoughts, rented worries Revived just to welcome the sad, old self Moments are lost when smiles were love, When winks, faces said how much I cared Transform me back, if I have no soul at all Let…

  • February

    Sold to the warm white clouds and suns heat, To the golden hue, shared across the firmaments Across the fields where grows the yellow wheat Came a new born, a new beginning, a new month To the East and West, to the North and the South It came, striving, growing, standing, blest February retells stories…

  • Lullaby: Moonshine

    ”Where there is shine, there is a way…” Take a walk through the pathways that lead to the village center Pass the heavily treed garden of sour grapes and locust bean And the ever singing Pines that border the town from the forest Upon the skies, like a print of gold on the darkened grey…

  • When we play with the wor(l)ds

    Let us say there are some mystery in the Earths misery Fake hysteria overshadow Natures artless history Yet with the blazing sun come our sober pun Savaging the dying Earth: stay or run, but we cant run And when we look to the South, there is strive To the helpless North, there is a hungry drought;…

  • The Butterfly

    See Mother Natures art See her paintings, black and white Behold gift of the rising sun, The wind is a prize to be won So fly pet of the blue clouds … skies and the wind Break forth from the cocoon Hit the silky walls wide open Fly away, you pretty butterfly Travel farther up,…

  • Let us take a Walk

     Now let us take a walk through the pine forest Through the shed which the forest provides Through the pathway where the leaves form a cushion Through the place where the squirrels make an abode And the darkness of the shrubs a shed from the noon Come let us take a walk through the lands…

  • The Tree leaves fall

    Permit me a sec before reading this piece. I am pained to see the world destroy green life, I feel the grieve of these wonderful creatures, I feel even worse knowing I might not be able to save all the trees from the cruelty of my own kind. You all know that the trees are…

  • A muse: The Thunder and her nephew

    When the thunder storm descends The clouds rumble with a quake, For the Earth and her companions She cuts up a powerful link Letting her much younger nephew Take a solid images of the quiet world Every other force goes on pause, on mute While the two siblings enjoy their ride Through the Earth, through…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Darkness falls

    Darkness falls… The cries of night wolves and wild dogs Rent the airs far away deep in the forest The wind grew milder, the moon light brighter And the sweet lullabies ring out from homes A tradition, one which the little ones adore The evening simmer into a deep darkness As the African tales went…

  • 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 Wind

    There was heavy wind, swooshing about Just behind the hut where the pots lay Now it surged. Paused, Sudden… Play The wooden doors creak restlessly Like horses surround’d by wild dogs Near the bush, the wind whipp’d tree logs The sweet fragrance of other houses came The stench of the sewages woke up And roofs…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Love note

    This is for you my dearest… There are twists and turns on the way Hills and valleys Darkness and light, But love, true love surpasses any hindrance or fear I do not dance very well, I might not sing so well But I can love you in many ways We can ride the Lions back,…

  • Lions and Lionesses

    Lions could be cute and cuddly, But only without their teeth and claws! They prowl the thick vegetations of Africa And plains of South Asia… With their manes as crowns They rule the African jungle They roar from afar… And all tenants of the wild; Deer, Elephant, Boar, Zebra Wake to listen! In the night,…

  • When the rains go

    The ponds will go dry As the rains slowly go, And the clouds very shy For she will have none to woo When the rains go to other lands She carries her entourage of wind, Throw into childrens eyes fine sand And leave a handsome wreck behind The weather grows hot in the evenings And…

  • The Palm Tree

    I wonder why it is called a tree Yet she is dressed like a masquerade With thorny arms raised to deliver a blow And fins to wade thru a turbulent storm Dangerous as she looks, She is quietly harmless Swerving from one wind to another She enjoy the attention of the airs When there is…

  • Nursery Rhyme: The Bamboo by Oke’ Iroegbu

    Bamboo, Oh Bamboo Take a look at you! You are very tall and mild With stems, severely strong And leaves straight and long Bamboo, Oh Bamboo The favorite Panda’s chew You blossom upon the waterside Spreading your branches like a canopy Over everyone in the small community Bamboo, Oh Bamboo Your greens stay hidden in…