#POETRY4ChangeAfrica: “Father’s Funeral” by Oluwasegun Romeo Oriogun (Ogun Da Silva)

VISION | VOICE |

VISIBILITY | VALUE-EXHANGE|

Father’s Funeral by Oluwasegun Romeo Oriogun (Ogun Da Silva)

the body was laid to rest
along with his years
his memories
and nothing,

#POETRY4ChangeAfrica: “Last Words Mama Couldn’t Say” by Oluwasegun Romeo Oriogun

VISION | VOICE |

VISIBILITY | VALUE-EXHANGE|

Last Words Mama Couldn’t Say
by  Oluwasegun Romeo Oriogun (Ogun Da Silva)

1. The end won’t hurt like the beginning.
2. Beautiful houses do not always make good homes.
3. The first time I held you God turned his face.
4. I could give you lessons about loneliness but I can’t tell you how it feels.
5. Learn to wait for love.
6. Your father bled me in places that killed me.
7. A woman is a body.
8. Learn about suffering.
9. Learn about nights and tears.
10. Never hit a woman.

#81. The Art of Nothingness

Today, we sway to the poetry of nothingness.

No lists. No check marks. No counters. No timers.

Today, we watch the colours of the butterflies

And listen to the rhythmic sounds of crickets

And feel the cool warmth whispered in the winds

Today, is the day you choose to take the time

and spend time in the wholeness of your soul,

in the hidden broken pieces you drag in tow;

the forgotten, buried and often ignored parts.

#77. Lagos on my mind; Las Gidi state of mind.

Listen to the AUDIO Version of the poem below.

 

Las Gidi state of mind

The go – slow; the maddening traffic,

the jarring fast pace,

‘Ojuelegba? ‘Owa, owa’; the yelling and yapping

of crazy Molue and Danfo drivers.

Mama put and isiewu joints,

Amid the stinky smells of oceans and rivers

The fierce, obsessive, relentless race

to outrun giant, gutsy Eko rats

The runs, the hustle, the bustle,

(Eko for show),

Hustlers, hoping to hammer

————–

 

The Island, high-society; awon big boyz and gals

-Meet Jenifa’s crowd and crew

Caught in the designer madness, the endless chase

Under-the-bridge thugs and day-dreamers,

planning their next strike at the high-rise tricksters;

-the big spenders, the takers, movers and shakers,

moving fast-forward, then lost in reverse.

Rockstar-pastors and their sheeple,

trading big dreams for hard currency,

all in a polluted maze of fleece!

————–

 

Mainland, Ajegunle – AJ city, Eko Atlantic,

Slum hummers, jungle drummers,

Iyana Ipaja to Ajah, Lekki to Okokomaiko,

I love my Eko o [(♪, ♫)].

The exotic paradise of the combined beat

Shoprite designer rice, side by side with my Agege bread,

Faking it, making it, celebrating the mess and the madness

————–

 

Aje-butter, aje-pako,

Mushin-living, Louboutins-wearing, accent-forming,

welcome to our crazy land;

Redeemed by our sacred love for this soulful Island!

Tribe and tongue forgotten under the Island heat,

With love and passion we meet and greet,

screaming with swag from afar:

Bawoni? Kedu? How far?

The only currency accepted here are big, bold dreams.

————–

 

Las Gidi born, Las Gidi bred,

Together, we dare to follow our dreams,

Finding our unique light in the darkness, UP NEPA!

All united in this crazy prayer and anthem:

Eko oni baje o![(♪, ♫)]

Lagos, always on our minds,

eternal dreamers

in a Las Gidi state of mind.

(c) Juliet ‘Kego Ume-Onyido 2015 (All rights reserved).

[Image source: Author’s, self-created; copyright-free content]

#62. And the LIGHT swallowed our colours…

Listen to the AUDIO Version of the poem below.

 

Let the light come and swallow our colours.

Let the void come and swallow our colours.

Let white and brown and red and black,

and all the unseen colours in between,

be revealed as symbolic imagery of thee.

Let the colour of light common to one and all

be bared once and for all, that we’d finally see

that our colours and tribes and tongues and faiths,

do not project our dissonance or chasm.

They simply reflect the creativity and quirks,

the cool, interwoven tapestry of your mystery,

the sheer complexity and depth of your majesty!

In the dark void, the colours fuse together

and emerge as one single LIGHT.

Our DIS-connect creates the illusion,

a fallacy; a myth of our se-pa-ra-tion.

But me be you, and you be me,

and WE be simply one and same,

of one source and of one being.

Think! How could we not BE?

If the light comes from the deep void

and swallowed the darkness of our colours,

what a drab, dark, dingy world it would be!

So, let the LIGHT come from the deep void

and reveal the brightness of our colours.

Let love unfold the beauty hidden within


for all to see that all lives matter

And the light swallowed our colours.

‪#‎NigeriaBokoHaram
#WhiteLivesMatter‬‪
#BrownLivesMatter
#BlackLivesMatter‬
‪#RedLivesMatter
#AllLivesMatter‬
#ICantBreathe
#‎Ferguson
#IStandWithAhmed

(c) ‘Kego Onyido 2014 (All rights reserved).