They are back again — Hyeladzira A.B. Shaffa

The archive They are back again Poem by Hyeladzira A.B. Shaffa · 1991 Let’s give the squirrel a chance to rule us He asked the land to snuff out The dawning flame of our fate; Let’s give the hyena a chance to rule us! He held the communal war-horn yesterday Let’s give the tortoise rule […]

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Cosmic birth of Citizen — Amin Sheid Anakobe

The archive Cosmic birth of Citizen Poem by Amin Sheid Anakobe · 1990 Joy of the mother Becomes highly spirited in expectation Moody in the joyest moment of life Held by the threshold of delight Eventually. Aha! the shrill cry In cosmic rays Resounding ones and ones again Breathes to limelight The fresh and fresh […]

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A confession of faith — Osaze Lanre Ehonwa

The archive A confession of faith Poem by Osaze Lanre Ehonwa · 1990 I confess this faith: pain is the heirloom of my generation rage is the spirit of my age my universe pulsates only to the rhythm of one imperative — to stand, unbowed, a flashing column of refusal! The rich folds of my […]

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I seek life — Omolara Ogundipe Leslie

The archive I seek life Poem by Omolara Ogundipe Leslie · 1990 (Songs to the United States of America) I seek life in the crevices of trees, roots that touch, and the flower’s hidden womb. I crave life not in the cerebrations of conceit, dry winds to sooth the battered self; I seek life, in […]

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Poetry Archives from Nigeria Magazine, 1987.

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 noiseface it —this is heaven,leave the air’s thick fog,and rest;enter my conditioned netto bask indelicatessecome into my parlour,said the spiderto the fly;I […]

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Whoosh, and pirotechnic — Uncredited (West Africa)

The archive Whoosh, and pirotechnic Poem by Uncredited (West Africa) · 1982 Whoosh, and pirotechnic Blooms flush the sight Al-zahir Al-Batin with Self-confounding light; Al-Hakam, the arbiter; Al-karin the Bountiful He pummels the dust, ah-malik. Created in myriad ire: Al-aziz; His chameleon gaze, Ar-raquib tells His, tells His praise, His rosary of plumes. He screams, […]

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The Excellencies — Odia Ofeimun

The archive The Excellencies Poem by Odia Ofeimun · 1982 They move in their merry-go-rounds; satiated, they have little stomach for questions though cups of misery overbrim in the eyes of every man woman and child sprawled out across their rounds they have little stomach for reflections though the faces of those they love may […]

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The archive Untitled (Thunder rocked and gathered the sky in its arms) Poem by Obiba Opoku Agyemong · 1982 Thunder rocked and gathered the sky in its arms The rain danced and danced Till overcome, it fell laughing on our rooftops And diviners lost their native creed In a handful of drizzle I have planted […]

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Untitled (Like leaves on a tree) — O. A. Jawando

The archive Untitled (Like leaves on a tree) Poem by O. A. Jawando · 1982 Like leaves on a tree natured by the earth, we bloom and fall alone O. A. Jawando · 1982 EDITOR’S NOTE Originally published in West Africa on 25 October 1982, p. 29. This diplomatic transcription preserves the wording and lineation […]

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For B… — Odia Ofeimun

The archive For B… Poem by Odia Ofeimun · 1982 Your eyes grow their knives into yesterday to slash the hug, the webs that closed us up in the blissful coop of our time of ostriches But you know that what went before cannot be undone by either the violence of mind or the fission […]

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