TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN “The back is bared!”“Aha!” Then shoot!”“Beat!”“Mock!”“Jeer!”“Destroy and pull the hair!” You wrote the stage directionsin a plot of script;collected royalties;danced its liesacross a dim-litcryptedcyclorama Hungry claws applaudedlaudedcalled for moreencores;manacled leeredyou bowed Did you not read the Scroll?The writing on the wall?Hear the prophet’s call? Ask not for whom the curtains […]
INVITATION come into my parlour,said the spiderto the fly;never mind the cobwebs,just come in and don’tbe shy;find a wealth of gourmetto suit your palate’schoice;let not my smile deter youor the silence of the noise face it —this is heaven,leave the air’s thick fog,and rest;enter my conditioned netto bask indelicatesse come into my parlour,said the spiderto […]
The archive Agbado Poem by Wole Oyebamiji · 1970 Sweet AgbadoLoveliest fruit of the rainy seasonStrictly loved by young and oldThe joys of southernersThe happiness of northerners. Come a field of CornHow often do I love to see you comeThe green, oblong leavesArranged oppositelyAre all inviting features. Some love it boiledOthers prefer it toastedOnly one […]
The archive A Song for Aro Poem by ’Dele Ogundimu · 1970 Iokro of mine i plantmy maize in the farm bloomsgoat of Aro the okro eatswith maize Aro’s ewe its hunger slakes.ask him me what i do wrong! IIgoat that visits Arocommutes with the gulletsheep that knocks Aro’s doorthe vanishing trick elects. IIIAro,husband of […]
The archive Omo-Tuntun (New Born Baby) Poem by ’Sanmi-Ebora Ogunjobi · 1970 OMO-TUNTUN (NEW BORN BABY) Here I comeInto this worldA strangerThe mystery of this placeI know notThe sweetness and bitternessTo me are newOh! ‘Olodumare’, I prayFor protection, throughThis vast oceanIn search of progress and greatness ’Sanmi-Ebora Ogunjobi EDITOR’S NOTE Source: Archiving (Nigeria Magazine, Sunday, […]
The archive All Length Is Torture Poem by U. Eweka · 1970 ALL LENGTH IS TORTURE I began without seeking to findEase comfort and worldly pleasuresBut when they come by measuresI began to revel with an easy mindIn what greed and avarice unbindTo let loose what my yearnings bred.I had hoped in vain to treadA […]
The archive Prescription Poem by Dan Awodoye · 1970 PRESCRIPTION The fire which sizzled the haze of myth, burns thelegendBurns the prided palm: which taps the wine oftraditionThe enemy of our history. The fire which carpeted this land, on the leasing of herfreeholdDestroys the nursing womb: which breeds heryoungA land faded from the past. The […]
The archive Eyelashes Poem by O. Wonodi · 1970 EYELASHES (for Lovett) All around I see the faces of Eveadorned to the craft of the artist.I see them put on smiles and cullout eyes like watersnails, lookingnot at faces but on the ground as ifto say “We want to go unnoticed”yet wanting to be noticed.I […]
The archive The Talking Drummer Poem by Olu Obaseki · 1970 THE TALKING DRUMMER From your shoulder hangsThe magic that talks the talesAnd sings the tonic solfaA cylinder with delicate animal skinOf distinguished fashionThat makes the double faceAnd well treated leather stringsThat clothe the carved woodThe expert hand holdsThe cornered cudgel of flatButton top that […]
The archive Say It Loud — I Love Adire Poem by Wole Oyebamiji · 1970 SAY IT LOUD — I LOVE ADIRE The cheapest and most durableFascinating and ConspicuousTypically designed for us locallySay it Loud — I love Adire.Locally made in the tropicsFor the use of tropical peopleWhose vast majority lives in the tropicsSay it […]