Once stood so grand
Like Kilimanjaro against the sky
Our way of life
A beacon, a guiding light, a brand
As children, we grew up in its embrace
We imbibed its wisdom
Mimicked the gestures
Offered with reverence to the deities.
But now, it’s just darkened reflections
Fading echoes of what once was
Our way of life, tarnished and frayed
Worn thin by the touch of westernization.
The songs we sang, the stories we told
Now lie buried, rusted gold,
Yet deep within, the spark remains
A fire waiting to rise again
To reclaim our roots, to stand anew
To honor the culture we once knew.
The nervous chatter
The haunted stares
The muted prayers
Their motherland
Totters all about
Democracy gone bad
Democracy a tool
Of elites to amass..
Power with a guise
Of legitimate rule..
A sad twist of affairs
Has the motherland
Tottering in gloom
Modernization.. is it
Westernization.. is it
Democracy.. elitism
Now has them disillusioned
Going at each others jugular
Please dream my people
Of home grown solutions
Please do break away
From the chains of reasons
From the chains in seasons
The attitude that means great scare
And birth sufferings we couldn't bear
Thank God he's sick, we pray he lacks care
Centuries of "didn't care" land us in misery we now wear
We didn't care if the well was not well
"Grant us a token to dine" the town's well is too expensive to make well
We didn't care if farmlands became bushy for we Stood at the mercy of crude that make us fat while slumbering
We didn't care to explore our bounty till crude lost face among peers
We didn't care if our products were messy
white groceries were on spots for cheap barter
We didn't care to snuggle our culture before westernization put us in oceanic soup
Our heritage is unmaintained because we didn't care
We didn't care to say NO till the we are made to have no choice
Public enjoyment in belly of few men because we didn't care
We didn't care from the start now our care means nothing, our tears finds no hope
We are where we are because WE DIDN'T CARE
The song about you is love.
I have knitted your laughter
In the coven of my heart to rest,
fondled your smiles to rest in peace,
Remembering your defeat to hatred.
We'll sing of you in unison uptown
the mountain of the world of Benue
to declare freedom to your unborn dreams.
Your stories of realities shall be
sounded at Idoma clan of your bravity.
May we always remember this:
We'll paint on the walls of joy
never shall your sun Smit you!
You are of a great woman of strength,
bottling the flashes of the timid moon
and keeping the glowing of your smiles.
You are a Queen of the middle belt,
the awaken light of bouncing tomorrow
brighting many souls deceived by westernization.
You have a tale in your eyes of eyes
which shall resound farther soonest,
when Idoma and the world shall behold you,
we will dance along the field of longativity
of age which heaven endowed you with.
...and I said my birthday wishes.
© John Chizoba Vincent
Colonialism,
Neo-colonialism.
Independence,
Donor dependence.
Westernization,
Modernization.
Feminism,
Gender equality.
Gay rights,
Human rights.
Murder,
Abortion.
Nothing has changed,
Except for the words.
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.