poem: BEAUTIFUL GUILT

We locked eyes again
The umpteenth time
She smiled.
A warm, inviting smile
Directly at my heart
My mind, my soul

The smile,
With telepathic notes
Saying much more
Than words could convey

The smile,
A magnetising one
Drawing me nearer,
Closer
To her
Like one in a trance

“Such radiant smile. A message of hope?”
I winked.
“Ah!” She blushed.
“My smile is me. It sayeth nothing.”

She smiled.
A guilty one.
A beautiful guilt.


Those who read this, also read:


Ah, My Honey

Lover's Across Borders

Poem: LEARNING CURVE

Again, I’m humbled
By the vagaries
Of life
The agonies
Wrapped in the heartbreak
That failed love is

I’m distraught by
The cynicism
Of friends,
Whose shoulders
I’m offered
To lean on

Ah, I’m awed by
Futility
Of wealth,
And the vainness
Of ego

I’m convinced of
The limitations of self
And the might
Of the Almighty

Those who read this, also read:

Beyond Death

Travails of Truth

My Conscience

Poem: Okoroshi , the Masquerade

With grotesque mien
The fearsome ones
From the land of the dead
‘Okoroshi’,
The Masquerades
Sneak, or roam

In their gloved hands
A long cracking whip
With speed, and agility
Of an antelope
They are
Terrors, of the day

Young men,
Boys, and girls
Pitch their speed
Against these
Crafty immortals

Again, and again
Elders
Initiated in the ways
Of these spirits
Mediate
Rescuing the
Unfortunate youngsters
Whipped, scented, frightened
From their hideous
Captors
While securing passes
For the humble
Uninitiated

Fearsome ones of the dead
My ancestors
Guardians
Of the night
Who by
Howling and wailing
Scare
Evil spirits from
Ravaging the land

And when their time
Is done
The immortals
Crawl back
Into the ant holes
From whence
They emerged
And shall re-emerge!

Poem: MOROSE

Silence wrestles me
My eyes,
Arrested, by
Unseen forces
Is exiled to gaze-land
My mind rampage
Against things that nag me
Causing a sickening sensation
In my belly

My being
Rebelling against
The present
Rues the past
Craving for better days
Longing that
I become more

My mind
Finding none
Or complex answers
To the puzzles
In my trance
Returned
To its stool
To liberate my eyes,
From its exile

Poem: DILEMMA OF LOVE

Love beacons
Pointing the way
To a life,
Of fantasy
Where conjugal sadness, regrets
And sorrows
Are exiled forever
Like the unfortunates
Of the medieval era
By a simple smile
From a loving heart

Love sings
A sweet melody
Of happiness
Craving me join,
The chorus
That side by side,
We will be happy, together
Always, forever

Love behests me turn
The blind eye
To our frailties, and
And snares
Lurking around,
That path
Of fantasy

Alas, my heart’s
Wired, not only for love
But reality
That
Love must be bold
And never blind!

Long-sighted enough
To discern a mirage
Courageous
To say:
Love
Alone, is
Not enough!

Those who read this, also read:

Unlucky in Love

Heartless II

Heartless I

The Nag

Poem: IDENTITY TAG

I wear it
Another emblem
Of modern imperialism
And willing servitude
That humanity in
In her usual vanity
Has replaced
Slavery with

I’m compelled to
Wear it
Proudly, or poignantly
The symbolism of
Of human asset
That I have come
To become

Yes, I wear it
Like
A dog’s tag
That my master
My peek at
And call me
By my name
In a pretentious show
Of familiarity
Or feigned recognition

I must wear it
To avoid the threat
Or application of sanctions
To show my loyalty
To the brand, or idea

I must wear it
My name tag
My identity badge

Poem: BEYOND DEATH

Have I become
Heavily heartless?
Staring down true love
With mistrust or disdain
Preferring lust,
Gold and Silver?

Have I become
Resolutely ruthless?
Ignoring friends, and ties
Striving only to succeed,
To get ahead?

Have I become
Considerably callous?
Staring poverty, and penury
In the face,
Yet blaming the victim
For their state.
Hardly lending a hand?

Have I become
Pathological paranoid?
Isolating myself in
Physical or financial castle
Else my ‘enemies’
Destroy everything
I have worked for,
And become.

Have I...?
Have You...?

Have we become
Ignorant or arrogant?
Of what lies, beyond earth,
Beyond death!


Those who read this, also read:

Fleeting Breath (Aka Dying Diane)

Fatal Fall

Learning Curve

Travails of Truth

My Conscience

Poem: SLEEPING DEATH

The freshly broken branch
Of a young oak tree
Perhaps unable to
Sustain her tender weight
As she sat,
Admiring nature,
Waiting, longingly for him
Beside the silent
Beautiful brooks
Belies any hope of sleeping death

Her head rests peacefully
On a young tender flower,
Dark rotting blood, trailing a path
Down her neck
Where a spike, had pierced
An artery
To the patch
Sounded louder than any thud
Of her graceful, short,
Yet fatal fall!

The knowing ugly black vultures
Circled overhead,
High above the lush greenery
With each cycle climbing
Lower and lower
Closer, and closer,
To a beautiful meal!


Those who read this, also read:

Fleeting Breath (Aka Dying Diane)

Beyond Death

I pass my neighbour

Poem: HEARTLESS II

Today she called,
To beseech
Me wish her well,
She is getting married, to
Some man,
I left her for
The quiver in her voice,
The sadness
Revealed more than she says

She is gone!
Another casualty of
My heartless heart,
My prejudice,
My sarcasm

She gone,
With her love,
Prayers, wishes
And hope for me.
To invest ‘em in another
Worthy or not
I’ll shrug it off as usual
To continue my quest
For the one I’ll choose

Love’s not in my deck
For my heart was
Long stolen,
Shattered
By someone like her.


Those who read this, also read:

Heartless I

Dilemma of Love

Unlucky in Love

Poem: HEARTLESS (1)

Oh that I have a heart,
Full of verve,
full of passion
To enthrall,
Love, and cherish
The one close to me,

Oh that I have a heart,
Broken,
Or shattered,
That I may care,
With empathy,
With gratitude,
The one close to me,

Oh, that I’m not heartless,
That my heart
Long stolen,
Shattered, and
Forever gone
Like yesterday,
Is still within me.

Those who read this, also read:

Heartless II

Unlucky in Love

Dilemma of Love

Poem: THE NAG

I don’t like this.
I don’t want that
This is not fair!
That is not good!
Why did you do this?
Why did you do that?
What do you mean?
What does that mean?
Why not this? Why not that?
Answer now! Answer straight!

She nags about this,
She nags about that
On, and on, and
Day by day
She nags!

Angling for a fight
Seeking an outburst
Trying my patience
Troubling my mind
Distorting my thoughts
My peace, my health

With nags like her
Who wants a wife?
When loneliness’ a blessing
A place of peace.

I won’t hit the bottle
Nor do the drugs
I won’t crave for women
Of easy a virtue

I have a remedy
Simple and easy
I’ll bury myself
Deeper, and longer
With work, and art

A better companion
Is work, and art
And a better home
My place of work!

Those who read this, also read:

Learning Curve

Travails of Truth

Of Women

Dilemma of Love

Poem: AH, MY HONEY!

I told my honey of
My bottle of honey
Just some stories,
Of truths and facts

That honey’s good
For my cough, and cold
It tackles my sores
Wounds, and cuts
It’s good for her acne,
Her hair, her skin

I rambled on, and on
Of the goodness of honey
Ah, but a secret,
I kept to myself
My bottle of honey,
Cheaper than the V
For a natural aphrodisiac
None’s better than it is
A couple of spoonfuls
In glass of water
An hour before
The do!

Poem: PHARAOH’S SOLDIERS

From underground bunker
Emerged them
Gritty pawns,
Ravenous females they are,
With nails-fitted clubs
Sprouting from their heads.
Marshaled by stern scouts;
Skirting here, there,
Screaming inaudible instructions,
Soldiers with sharp pincers
Tipped with chemicals,
enough to make Saddam go green, and Bush red)
Led them on.

In centuries they marched,
Six legged beasts,
Swiftly unto conquest.
Clawing, gnawing, tearing,
Unleashing their deadly arsenals.
I winced in my sleep, and
Jumped off my bed.
Intensely, I fought to
Shake-off scores,
Gallant they are,
Who clung on, creating more bumps.
Pains shot up my spine,
Sleep escaped my eyes.
I looked down in awe,
Numerous, honey-colored mass,
on white parade ground,
That was my bed,
In frenzy, and unending jubilation.
Monomorium pharaonis -
Pharaoh’s Ants - have claimed another victory.

Poem: TRAVAILS OF TRUTH

Like a blast from a referee’s whistle
Emerged the unbridled truth,
Clear, cold, hard
With taste
Like a bitter pill
Smell
Like the still water
A stark dullness,
Like a mumble
From uncertain mind

I ducked from boring truth
Longing
For the beautiful lie
Spewed
From the crafty tongue
Clothed in
Fantasy,
And a promise
Of happy ending
I seek the truth!
But preferred the lie
For the promise of fantasy
Of love, and
Happy ending
Is sweeter
Than
The common truth

Those who read this, also read:

Learning Curve

Dilemma of Love

Beyond Death

My Conscience

Poem: IN THE PIPELINE

The people craved
For an end to
Pollution
Access to education
Health and structures
Ah, and a fair share
Of the nation’s wealth
“Oh,’ says the government
“The things you asked for,
We have ‘em in the pipeline”

Soon patience, and hopes
Came crashing
As poverty and neglect,
Ravaged the land
Flowing with oil,
Blooming with gas
“The things we asked for, whence comes them?”
Again says the government
“The things you asked for, are in the pipeline.”

Hungry and Hopeless
Angry and armed
Youth of the Delta,
Turned on the pipelines
With dynamites, and rockets
Guns, and grenades

Lo, and behold
The things they asked for
Are truly in the pipelines

Tis a tale of the Delta
A Nigerian Tale


Those who read this, also read:


Niger Delta Amnesty

Travails of Truth

An Ode to President Musa Yar' Adua

Poem: SACRED MEAL

The blameless river goddess
Demanded a sacrifice
Of a sacred meal
To guarantee
Continuous flow of
Water
The precious fluid
To both man and beast

“A meal of meat she said”
“From an animal without bones”
Enthused the goddess’ messenger
“Not of lowly insects
“Nor from a watery kingdom
“An animal without bone, else
“She’s gone in seven days

The elders,
Chiefs and sages
Conspired
And offered to the goddess
A sacrifice of stillborn

Alas,
In seven days
She is gone!
River Nmirioma
And her goddess
Gone overnight, gone with the wind
The corpse of a stillborn
Is no animal without bone!

Poem: LOVER ACROSS BORDERS

My home girl lover
With instant messengers
Calls, and texts
Flood my heart and head,
With sweet promises
Of love and romance
Urging me, bidding me
Come home,
Or invite her over
My mind,
Pragmatic as usual
decided the former
And home I am!
To witness first hand
The silent voices,
And vanished text
Lover she claim
Lair she is
For the avalanche of texts
Calls, and mails
Not her face, would surface
Of my lover
Across border

Poem: THE KING OF POP – A BALLAD

To those who yearn for an ode
As only, a bard can
Hearken!
Ye restless ones, longing for the rested,
Hearken!

An ode you wished! A ballad I give
Of a black boy wonder
Who entranced the world
Blacks, whites
With enchanted melody, and
Melodrama
Thrilling them

Hearken, ye mourning souls! Hearken!!
To a ballad
Of a young African-American
A handsome man
Who many moons ago
Taught the world, the scintillating art
Of Moon-walking!

Oh, ye my wistful people, hearken!
To a ballad
Of the King - of Pop
Who craved childhood
Like never before
So much so, that he lived
With little boys in
An amusement park!
Of a King
Who dreaded aging,
That he slept in
An Oxygen casket!

Hearken, ye discontent people! Hearken!!
To a ballad of a Blackman,
Deemed to detest his colour
So much so, that he morphed to a hideous ‘white’ man
Sacrificing his nose, and
Humanity!

Hearken, ye craving people! Hearken!!
To a ballad of a ‘white’ Blackman
An alleged child molester,
Deemed not humane enough,
Even to the cancer stricken!

A ballad of a middle-aged king
Sad, hurting, withdrawn, and
Drowning
In a pool of debts, and bills!

A ballad of frail king
With failing health
Who risked his life for a lifeline!
A ballad of a man
Who died trying to re-emerge!
A ballad of Michael Jackson (RIP)


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An Ode to President Musa Yar' Adua

Men of God

Poem: GORY TALE (II): I PASS MY NEIGHBOR

I powered on my generator
Nicknamed, I pass my neighbor
Small, compact, it is
To add to the twinkles
Of lights,
Scattered across the neighborhood

To add its noise to
The cacophony of noise
From the smallest
To the biggest
Of generators
Rulers of the night

To add to the pollution
Of air, and sound

I wished I wouldn’t
But the Power Holding Company of Nigeria
And powers that be
Have forced this on me
- on us
Nigerians (small and mighty)

I listened to the news,
Analysis of plans
I watch some movies
And then it watched over me
Deep into the night,
Deep into my sleep

I woke
In the morning
To a noise of another kind
Horrified voices
And bangs on my door
A family of four
Have died in their sleep
Fumes
From my generator, small and compact
Beneath our window boundaries
Has aided and abetted,
In multiple homicide!
My generator - I pass my neighbor
Has killed my neighbors



Those who read this poem, also read:

Deadly Chatter

Fatal Fall

Fleeting Breath (Aka Dying Diane)

Poem: GORY TALE (I): DEADLY CHATTER

The men in black, cops they are
Nabbed him
An innocent bystander
Bloodshot eyes,
Of the ganja mongers,
Peek
From slits, and keyholes
The innocent squeaked, chattered,
Gesticulated
In futile protestation
The men in black pushed, dragged, hassled
The innocent
Blood shot eyes,
Peeked,
Ominously

Then he clattered
The innocent
Bright red blood, oozed
Kissing the red earth
From his head wound
The men in black, five in all
All awed, all froze

Bloodshot eyes,
Reddened
By the red sight
Emerged from
Nooks and crannies
With cudgel, and all
Deadly chatters, shrieks, and groans
Rend the air
Shattered by gunshots
By the men in black
Two in all
Fleeing to tell
The gory tale


Those who read this, also read:

I pass my neighbour

Fatal Fall

Fleeting Breath (Aka Dying Diane)