The river
When the river is pure,
They throw gold and silver,
They throw their mud there,
When the river is dirty,
They come to drink with us,
Little by little, they defile the water,
In our turn, we dream of the Zambezi,
From the Niger River.
La rivière
Quand la rivière est pure,
Ils y jettent or et argent,
Ils y jettent leur boue,
Quand la rivière est sale,
Ils viennent boire chez nous,
Petit à petit, ils souillent l’eau,
À notre tour, nous rêvons du Zambèze,
Du fleuve Niger.
Categories:
niger river, metaphor, nature, river,
Form: Free verse
History is the mirror through which we see tomorrow.
She is the apartheid portrait and silhouette of liberty in Port Elizabeth.
In Cairo, the pyramids would show you her hidden hollows.
Through the Niger River, she led Frederik Lugard to Lagos.
She is the archeologist's land-mark of Blood Diamonds.
You could ask the Congo’s, Angolans, Liberians, and the Ivorians,
They would tell you that Free Town was never a free town.
Yes! Freedom is never free at all.
We were rivers of blood and forests of bones.
We were snapping twigs and broken glasses.
We were these and more, in search of a big Tomorrow.
Hurray now, the Tomorrow is here
Maybe not so ‘big’ (correct me if I’m wrong).
'Children are the leaders of tomorrow',
a songbook we were forced to buy at school many years ago,
My father had no money, ergo, I was forced to borrow.
It was the only way I could learn and sing along with my peers, damning my ego.
Alas, the leaders of today are still yesterday-leaders’ alter-ego
Are people not born because others should be gone?
How then would the beautiful ones come
when the ugly ones are still very much in form?
When exactly shall we see this big Tomorrow?
Categories:
niger river, africa, allusion, anger, corruption,
Form: Epic
Had we but words enough and tact
This coyness, master. Were no crime
I will like Marvell
Use simile to woo your love
And wait on you on the wings of time
Till your hardened ice becomes water
And I, able to pen you down in black
But at my back, I always hear
The roar of the grave, above my unwitty head
Will your charm be serviceable to
My broken bones in the vault?
Or my dusty lips render you without faults?
Now therefore, while my youthful wit
Lies on the back of a serviceable novice
Come to me with the speed of Flash
So with metaphor, I can call your name
Praise your valor with hyperbole
And remember you like my
Daddy's daughter drawn at the Niger River
February 2018
Inspired by
Andrew Marvell ~To His Coy Mistress_
Categories:
niger river, eulogy, friend, hyperbole, uplifting,
Form: Free verse
AFRICA
Africa! A land of many nations,
Full of cultural heritage,
Endowed with untapped attribute,
Has been present since the stone age.
A continent built on a strong basement,
Gifted with natural endowment,
The Niger river of Nigeria,
The Kilimanjaro Mountain of Tanzania.
Africa! Rich in mineral deposit,
The oil wells of Nigeria,
And the copper deposite
Located in north Rhodesia.
Nile river of Egypt,
Orange River of South Africa,
Indeed Africa is blessed,
What an awesome craft of God.
Categories:
niger river, adventure, africa, earth, education,
Form: ABC