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Obododimma Oha
Song of the Udu & Oyo
She rattles Uwa bu ahia ! Sellers and buyers Buyers of sellers Sellers of buyers
He echoes The goods of the good sometimes unsold
The woman of Umuleri seeking The goodness of the goods In the afternoons of loss
Iya, uwa bu ahia !
Again, against the gain The cost of the bad goods The sweetest vanity What we have bought From what we have sold Takes us to the next market
The Road to the Stream Sings:
Oso mgbada bu n'ugwu Tum tum gem gem Oso mgbada bu n'ugwu
Our legs s/printing our destinations On the wet sands of time Our hearts answering to the call Of the Headstream Who knows not the way to the Source Can follow fragments of clay pots
The willing waterwoman waits To lift the last pot onto the last head At Udenguma
Homeward, no word When it echoes doom doom The hill wonders With parted lips Under my hurrying feet
Oso mgabda bu n'ugwu Tum tum gem gem …
In the Light of our Darkness
Someone's sun rises Someone's sun sets Someone wants someone's risen sun to set Quickly, and light daring darkness Floods the streets of intimacy
Messengers of the brave Befriend the grave In the light of their dark passions
I have seen darkened suns In mornings of mourning at Abagana
And now when darkness returns to chase The shadow of the rising sun I remember to light up my dreams For a history of eternal struggle
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Sentinel Poetry (Online) #43 - June 2006. ISSN 1479-425X The International Journal of Poetry & Graphics...since 2002. Editor: Amatoritsero Ede |