A SONG FOR ARO
I
okro of mine i plant
my maize in the farm blooms
goat of Aro the okro eats
with maize Aro’s ewe its hunger slakes.
ask him me what i do wrong!
II
goat that visits Aro
commutes with the gullet
sheep that knocks Aro’s door
the vanishing trick elects.
III
Aro,
husband of the town
the towncrier’s terror
shooed behind, he shoes the front
rodent in the rich man’s house
scourge of the penniless.
’Dele Ogundimu
EDITOR’S NOTE
Source: Archiving (Nigeria Magazine, Sunday, March 1, 1970).