Best Oke Poems
An apple every day, he said to me.
Berries too, for your recovery.
Can I have just one small slice of pie?
Doctor nearly glared into my eye!
Even nuts and cheese you must not eat.
For Heaven's Sake, Doctor, I need a treat!
Good food should not be processed, white or fried.
How about some egg whites on the side?
(I was being snide because it's no
Joke that yolk is always good to go!)
Knowing I should lay off yummy things
Like burgers, chocolate, and pizza brings
Me such great angst! Everybody knows
No vegetables compare to fried potatoes!
On Thanksgiving, I will do some cheating.
Popcorn (hot-air popped) I will be eating!
Sept. 10, 2016 For the Alphabet Soup PoetryContest of Kim Merryman
Categories:
oke, cancer, food,
Form:
Rhyme
Poetry soup is a destination so many choose to navigate
Only the ones that love poetry are prone to walk its plank
Each member is a stand alone member with many limbs attached
Truth be told they are the embodiment of poetry when they write
Regardless of age creed or sex, poetry soup is a welcome site
Yoke it to your heart and join its mission of patriotic poetry
Soup is something hot you drink to keep warm, its true in both
Oh what a blessing it is to belong to a family of poets that love to
Umbrellas are items of great valor, they shelter us from rain
Poetry soup true its name shelters us under one beautiful umbrella too.
Categories:
oke, appreciation,
Form:
Name
.
I saw her's at the
distance
I tried the whistle
It flew out like
tweety bird's
caught by sylvester
featherz and
all
hern soon
oke
choked
Hitherto
i whistle not
at fine
hers'
her's
lets lips
mine
not
*i ofttimes spill the nouns (the)hers
:>shemales; i meant, females..(did so ')
(the)shes
therefore I explicate and may the poetic astute
accept mine artistic license :) hers: females... 'period'
shes: the feminine plural ;) oh stop ,)
edvard'z lisp and *sensitive feel> (fem~i~nine)
^:uh wight guy ') her's: possessive
* oke^ hern: belongs to her e.g. her's, in the broader sence; 'twuz her decision I.e; the poet, can say "her breast were in mine maws", yet, wus it her decision that her breast were there(the 'terse' poet would need to explicate, cramming hiz lisp with unnecessary werdz)..but, if the poet (i exspecially)exclaimed; "hern" breast were in mine maws", hiz readerz intuitively would know, that 'she gave' her breast up willingly(her decide). If the poet exclaimed; "hern pussie wuz pink"
^('she' lets poet see it's
pink
etc.)
i pray there be shes reserving sum hern for mine
indulge....words...that's what i well i tried to meant ')
Categories:
oke, analogy, imagery,
Form:
Dramatic Verse
nnam, where's that tree
at the centre of the clan?
o, what happened to the people's iroko?
where're my people's hope?
the voice of my clan
the famous tongue that came
like the griot of my niger
and stood firm, astute, echoing
the drums of my masters
the ancestors, my ancients –
nnam, did you say
the sacred tree’s fallen?
what mysteries in our times
what miseries are coming
upon the once famed clan –
did oke nmadu, the great man
go with the drum of the clan?
aru eme-e, evil has come
mere anarchy’s let loose
upon the clan –
let the ancients
remember their clan!
Categories:
oke, depression,
Form:
*SON OF NOBODY*
I was born in the Trenches
In the walls and roof with no fences
Drank from the seasonal rivers
Trust me we knew no povereties
We labour to live and not to gather properties
On the water different catch was our only envies
And when father went hunting
Meaty dinner was sure with my aunties
I was a son of nobody
And i lived with no enemy
Aside hunger I had no worry
Simply respect for my elders
My care for my little brothers
Much love and prayers to my ailing mother
And cold fear to my scolding father
That was my life, a son of nobody
Known by nobody aside my clans
We speak less in in the midst of numbers
Contented in my little
I craved nothing much than stomach
Take no candy from a stranger
Just be nice and pleasant
For the good you do to others
And the pain you inflict on the vulnerable
You'll live to reap the reward before you die
The simple life rules mama taught us
I was a son of nobody
Living to wear danshiki
Dancing with the masquerades
Our joy at the new yam festivals
Dusty feet at the market square
Stamping to the rhythm of the ancient drums
Cheering to the women in aso-oke
Wrapped round their bumpy chests
That was my joy a son of nobody
Under the thatched sheds made from raffia
Where mosquitoes bring no fever
But the angers of the gods pollute the streams with cholera
In my beautiful village where snake venom never kills
But the abandoned diety can cripple the children with polio
Tales of our grandfather's told at moonlight
Hero that fell the elephant with his cap
That was how we wrapped our days
Son of nobody had his lullaby
I'm just a son of nobody
Living my life with no worries
Dreamt of a day I'll be somebody
Meet a princess from ivory
Make plenty children of my own
Whom I'll tell my stories
Here I am a child of many glories
As told in the witch doctor's story
All the talks and thoughts feel funny
Because after the story of the big glory
Here I'm still a son of nobody
Categories:
oke, beautiful, childhood, emotions, encouraging,
Form:
Free verse
From Wisconsin the American walked the streets of Lagos
To black Africa welcome! To the pearly continent
Cradle of creation, primordial of civilizations
To the thickest jungles, haven of gigantic elephants
Den of fiercest lions and colourful gazelles
Ours is the blazing sun, golden in the horizon
Rains in seasons in the rainforest
Wildest plantations, lush vegetations
The mighty oaks, cedars, and irokos
Our is the heights, the pinnacles
Kilimanjaro, a supral-archectrural piece
Olumo, a refuge, a fortess and a stronghold
The towering Zuma rocks, Idanre hills, and the Mambilia plateau
Ours is the depth, the length
The Nile, the Niger, aquatic splendour
The riches of the earth depth, oil diamond and gold
To us belong the ageless heritages, a living culture
The talking drums, the festivals and the dances
Ours are fashion and style, regal and noble,
Batik, adire, kente, Ankara and aso-oke
And flowing African milk, palmwine, burukutu
Ogogoro, kunnu, fura de nunu.
And to us the millennium bestowed
Welcome to Africa, the motherland Nigeria.
Categories:
oke, adventure, life, social,
Form:
Ode
Chuka Nnabuife: Nwoke Na Mma
(Ab? p?r? iche maka mmemme ncheta ?gb?gba ah? iri ise nke Sa Chuka Nnab?ife)
Izunna Okafor dere ab? a
A s? na mma nwoke b? mpempe akw?kw?
Mana nke ah? b? maka nd? ?j? akw?kw?
Maka na onye g?t? akw?kw?, ma o kwegh? ya
Mgbe ah?, ? s? ka ? ga bute ego
Maka na ? kpazie ya aka n'?n?, ? s? na ego b? mma nwoke
?f?d? s?kwa na ogologo imi b? mma nwoke
Mana nke ah? b? maka nd? j?tara ?n? ha
Onye lechaa onwe ya n'enyo, h? na ? d? ka isi mkpi
Mgbe ah?, o cheta na ogologo imi b? mma nwoke
Maka na ya onwe ya b? ?s? ohu imi
Nd? ?ka s?kwa na mma nwoke b? n'af? ?n?
N'ihi na ha onwe d?ka ihu mm??
Ego kwàrà ha, ogologo imi erugh?kwa ha aka.
Ha wee ghàdozie aka n'af? ?n?
We kwubezie na af? ?n? b? mma nwoke
N'ime ihe nd? a niile
Nke b? eziokwu b? na ?ha obodo maara mm?? ka ukwu
Maka na e jigh? nkume elele isi kara aka
Ngàla nwa ebuli b? n'ihe chi ya jiri g?z?e
Mana ka m mme ka ? mara
O nwere otu nwoke nwere ihe nd? a niile
? b? maaz? Chuka Nnab?ufe
? b?gh? naan? na ? g?r? akw?kw?
Kama ogologo imi ya ha ka nke ele
Af? ?n? ya hakwa ka nke ag?
Mpe mpe akw? na-esi juputakwara n'akpa ya
Maka na a s? onye ji ya ruru ab??, ya gwuru
Lekene nwoke na mma
? b? ogologo o toro ka ?n? nkw?
Ka ? b?z? ?t?t? akara chi jiri g?zie ya
Nd? be any?, a na-eked? oke ji n'az? ?ba?
? ch?? ya n'?gba mb?, ? h? ya
? ch?? ya n'ise ihe, ? h? mkp?s? aka ya
? nwaa ya n'egwu, ? h? na ? b? keleke
? ch?zie ya n'ihe odide, ? h? na ya na Achebe b? ofu nne
?r? mgbasa ozi b?z?kwaara ya mmiri ?ñ?ñ?
Af? ?ma ya na-akp? n'ala ka nne eke
? b? nwoke maara ezi okwu
?g?g? isi b?kwaara uhie ?n?
Oge ?b?la, ihu na-at? ya am? ka ?k?r? nnewi
Maka na ? gh?tara n'elu ?wa d?ka ah?a otu
N'ihi ya keduz? ihe mmad? na-echegburu onwe ya.
Nd? be any?, keduz? ebe any? ga-ebido wee g?s?ba
? b? nd? o mere eme ka ? b? nd? ? ka na-eme eme
? b? na nd? o buru p?ta ?wa
Ka ? b? na nd? ? r?taara onwe ya
N'eziokwu, a d?gh? ama ?garanya n'af? nto
Maka na oke ji n'abala ad?gh? az? ihu ?ba
Maaz? Chuka b? oke nwoke
Ka m ka gbado ya ebe a maka mgbe ?z?
Maka na oke mm?? n?kar?a n'?gb?
?m??kp? ekenye ya ?t?
©Izunna Okafor, 2018
Categories:
oke, birthday,
Form:
Epic
Some Tales of the Wildwoods
Oke Iroegbu
Once upon a Time
It was winter
And a night of bitter cold
The snow lay thick upon the ground
And upon the branches of the trees
Two Woodcutters made their way home
And when they came to the Mountain
She was hanging motionless in the air
For the Ice King had kissed her
So cold was it that evening
That the animals and birds
Knew not what to make of it
‘Ugh!’ snarled the Wolf
As he limped through the brushwood
With his tail between his legs
‘This is perfectly monstrous weather!
Why doesn’t the Government look to it?’
‘Weet, weet, weet! Twittered the crickets
‘The old Earth is dead
And she is laid out in her white shroud’
‘The Earth is going to be married
And this is her bridal dress’
The Turtle doves whispered
Their little pink feet were quite frost bitten
But they felt it was their duty
To say something romantic about the
situation
‘Nonsense’ the Wolf growled
‘I tell you it is all the fault
Of the Government
And if you don’t believe me
I shall eat you’
The wolf had a thoroughly practical mind
‘Well for my own part’
Said the philosophical Woodpecker
I don’t care an atomic theory for explanations
If a thing is so, it is so
And at present it is terribly cold’
Categories:
oke, snow
Form:
ABC
Read letters to the left of the word (red) from "a" down to "y" then repeat for the word (blue)!
===========================================================
With very little knowing and harmless intention, a(red) s(blue)nack will tide me over til’ dinner
You should not be hasty, nor should you be satiety, my d(red)ad a(blue)dmits this and my
mouth should be thinner
The marketplace is full of u(red)nwrapped d(blue)elights, that will satisfy idol time in
boarding
Father also says my hunger deepens as my groomed dinner cheapens because I l(red)ay
i(blue)n hiding I’m hoarding
HE knows what I need and shuns what I want t(red)o s(blue)how what I deed to nuns what I
hant
Weep moans as I feed but none e(red)aten t(blue)hought Deep groans as I bleed
but none neaten fought
This snack could not, what I dreamt it would r(red)eally i(blue)nvoke commodious cover with
nothing a hoax
My Daddy was right should I vomit or choke should I promise to y(red)oke c(blue)an I
lawlessly coax
My daddy says NO, but HE still loves me, HE just says it, and then it is so
===========================================================
~This piece is drawn into true essence with the vacillating grouping of
letters; entities separated by colours red and blue (which are in parentheses because there
is no colour in this program). This will truly
endow the understanding of this piece when collected after the first
read and then at least two more readings as the ambiguity of chosen
terminology unfolds respectably even within the contents of each line.
Categories:
oke, faith
Form:
BEFORE the day gives room for the reign of the
night
Before the loudest silence conquers the stillness
of the bustling day
Before the active eyes of the Hawk hide behind
the tired lids
I want to say
I will come to you like omo-gidi in Aso-oke,
gliding in pompous fashion against the walk of
the wind
I will come to you with a neck and wrist
decorated with the proud beads of our land
I will come to you like Omoluwabi
who cherishes the values of the land
and pledges to uphold them even afterlife
I will come to pluck my favourite flower in your
garden
with my chest against your ground;
a way that pleases the unseen faces of our
ancestors
I will come with my ebi ati ara(family and friends)
to pick that day your name would be replaced
with mine.
Categories:
oke, art,
Form:
Ballad
:: Oke Iroegbu's Halls' ::
I want to be a sword
Give me a brass-smith
Mold me please... Mold me
I want to be a fish
Freedom of those depths
In the last frontiers of the Earth
I want to be a fruit
Come taste my puddings
Just bring a spoon- no bowel
I want to be a pen
Drawin pictures that lives in my mind
Creatin stories of Oiroegbu Halls
I want to be yur ...
Pulling yur hair all day
Waitin for yu to wake up in the mornins
I really want to be a story
In like the Arabian nights
Of bravery and of determination
I want to be a nutmeg
Makin yu cough all day*lol*
Laughin at yur red face*tongue*
Categories:
oke, art
Form:
ABC
Dike Alaa Mm?? (Maka Chukwuemeka Ike)
Izunna Okafor dere ab? a
Gém gém gém gém!
Dùm dùm dùm dùm
Tìkó tìkó tìkó tìkó
Gbám gbám dùm dùm.
Ùgbòrò ab?? ka òkù na-akp? dike
? kp?? ya na nd?, ? kp?? ya n'?nw?
Ihe emegh? n'ízù, o mee n'?nwa
Maka na isi gbàá ah?, chaa áw?,
Nwa onye ?wa ga-azar?r? chi ya òkù.
?z? t?? n'ili dike
?ha mm?? na ?ha mmad? an? ísì ozu ya
Maka na ? na-ab? ekwe k??
Àmà agbaa.
? b? g?n? na-af???
Oke mmiri àtáálá n'udummiri
Ihe mèrè na Nd?keli?nw?
Oke mmad? ebuláálá akw?kw?
Gìdì gìdì gìdì
Kotìko dùm dùm dùm
Cha?! íbo èzéé n'obí ézè
Ebubedike alaa mm??
G?n? ka a na-ekwubèd? ihe a?
Chukwuemeka Ike àpàchiela anya
Eze Ndikeli?nw? ejebego obodo af?dobe
Izùtè nd? mb? na nd? ègèdè n'?hà mm??.
Ihe emee n'obi eze
? na-ab? ézè az? kakp??
? si òsìmìrì l?ta
Onye ije alakwúrú chi ya.
Chukwuemeka b? dike ?b?r? nk?
?kaibe n'?h?a edemede
?kamm?ta nwere ùgwù
Cha?! eze obi umeala alakpuo ?ra.
Ihe ala rìrì àkár?á
Ya d?ba, maka na ?wa a b? ah?a
Onye z?cha nke ya, ? laba
Chukwuemeka Ike lad? mma.
Kókó kókó tìkó tìkó
Dùm dùm kótì
Eze, ka mkp?r? obi g? zùru ike udo
?b?ch? nkw? ka any? z?k?? ?z? n'?hà mm??
Onye ije lad? mma.
Categories:
oke, death,
Form:
Elegy
I had a stroke
And that's not oke
'Cause I can't rhyme
Line for line
And I can't spell....well
I lost my specs
Where the heck
Are they now....wow!
So far my new poem rhymes!
Categories:
oke, health,
Form:
ABC
(c) Oke.
Poetry from the Skies:
There was poetry up in the skies before we
learned to write
Awesome rhythms rendered as a strong
winds might
Surely we aint aware of this lyrics penned
down by the clouds
As such when it sings the green vegetations
all bows
There was poetry long before we learned to
walk or hear
Drums that tender softly beats that is far but
near
A brief gaiety that sounds across the heavens
Heard passionately even when it stills at
nights
There is poetry down this little African hill
Maybe it was the hyenas laugh sounding
near the mill
What is there, that there is no poetry in?
A flying stone sings heartily till it lands in a
swing
The infant here draws lines in his Arcadian
mind
If you cant find poems around you listen to
the sky!
Categories:
oke, art
Form:
ABC
Father, I'd hear your whispered voice, "Let's go fishing?"
Away, we'd go, always on sunny pleasant days.
Together, you and I, hiked down through
Heavy tall green sedge and rapid flapping of wings.
Early morning towards the pl-ashy
Riverbank, on a cloud of silence. There was no
Such thing as time, when waiting for fish to take the bait.
Dad, the sun rose and went down
As you gave us strength. You were and are the
Yoke of love that always keeps us together.
5/12/2021
Poetry Contest: A TRIBUTE TO FATHERS
Sponsored by: L MILTON HANKINS
Categories:
oke, father, tribute,
Form:
Acrostic