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Otieno Ouma Poem
AN ODE TO SLEEP.
Bereft asleep,baby born lights dim
The skies in space;twinkling bright a beam
Firmaments afar settling wide a gleam
Take care to sleep heav'nly realms as mile
Take guard thee guardians. Till the dawn arise
For I'll wake and shine in morn inclined.
Copyright © Otieno Ouma | Year Posted 2022
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Otieno Ouma Poem
A LOVER'S SONG
My lover is as elegant as Mwanda
She is a dark mirror in the sun radiating beauty and charm
Achieng has big round eyes and teeth as white as goat’s milk
Yet now I sing the song of a broken heart
For the iron snake has come and my departure I must take
Yuorauru, yuorauru… jaherana has left me.
As I take leave I fear. That as a feast attracts a gathering or a carcass does flies so my lover’s pulchritude will attract men.
Thirsty men will come, joteko kod agog. And I know just how persistent they will soothe my lover just to tap from her well.
They will linger and slaver like flies circling an open wound and obsess over her like hyenas trailing the scent of a carcass, seducing the beloved one of kayuocha
Opiyo owadwa watch over my ripened field. For a wife is a treasure to all. To me and to you.
I could not behold alas, the sight of another man kissing Achi.
I fume at the sight of Jawuot Gweng feeling the fullness of her ripened breasts. Anger burns within me at the sound of incessant sighs and passionate moans as my lover mates with another fool.
My heart is torn out of bewilderment yet fate has parted me from Osiepna.
For a man does not leave his meat outside, for the vultures will swoop and grab his spoil...
Menyo has sent me away… far from my in-law’s treasure.
My return is after six moons and all I have is fear and sometimes I hope still.
To return to the daughter of Ugenya whom I treasure, and get her home to my mother.
How I cry when I think of it... tears overwhelm my being jowadwa.
For my precious ornament lies exposed by the roadside…she may wait for her lover to return but just as I fear, she may soil her purity to quench the thirst that burns within
The lusts and passions of one’s youth may consume but I will yet hope and sing…a song for the one I love.
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Copyright © Otieno Ouma | Year Posted 2023
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Otieno Ouma Poem
GOING HOME
Could it get any better? I ask jodalawa
Could it turn out any different? I think not jothurwa
This is the way its s’possed to be owetena
For a man paves way for his family,
A path for his seed alas!
Could you help me yonder? You’ve tried osiepna
Could you have loved me any better? You do love jaherana
I have lived each day for this moment yet delayed
For at dusk the cattle return home
And my own are a solid rock alas!
Is this the end? I ask owadwa
Have we no more time left? There’s plenty jokanyanam
For the river bends most as it nears the sea
An arrow slows down when it breaks the wind
Are we headed home? Dwokauru nyikwa ramogi
Is this the bliss of the warriors? Twakuru koda jodongo
For the sun sets beyond the hills at dusk
And the search is ended at the break of dawn.
I return! I return..to my home God Agulu
Where the hyenas laugh as the rain melts into the sun
Aduogo dala kendo ayorayora, where is the gathering that awaits me?
By the old fig at the chief’s stead I hear ululations and noise. Sound of bul and the song of home...Abiiii..ro
I can feel it alive; the fertile smell of the forest, the earth and the sound of home afar.
Bende nurwaka adier... motherland I return.
Copyright © Otieno Ouma | Year Posted 2023
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Details |
Otieno Ouma Poem
A lOVERS' SONG
My lover is as elegant as Mwanda
She is a dark mirror in the sun radiating beauty and charm
Achieng has big round eyes and teeth as white as goat’s milk
Yet now I sing the song of a broken heart
For the iron snake has come and my departure I must take
Yuorauru, yuorauru… jaherana has left me.
As I take leave I fear. That as a feast attracts a gathering or a carcass does
flies so my lover’s pulchritude will attract men.
Thirsty men will come, joteko kod agog. And I know just how persistent they
will soothe my lover just to tap from her well.
They will linger and slaver like flies circling an open wound and obsess over
her like hyenas trailing the scent of a carcass, seducing the beloved one of
kayuocha
Opiyo owadwa watch over my ripened field. For a wife is a treasure to all. To
me and to you.
I could not behold alas, the sight of another man kissing Achi.
I fume at the sight of Jawuot Gweng feeling the fullness of her ripened
breasts. Anger burns within me at the sound of incessant sighs and
passionate moans as my lover mates with another fool.
My heart is torn out of bewilderment yet fate has parted me from Osiepna.
For a man does not leave his meat outside, for the vultures will swoop and
grab his spoil...
Menyo has sent me away… far from my in-law’s treasure.
My return is after six moons and all I have is fear and sometimes I hope still.
To return to the daughter of Ugenya whom I treasure, and get her home to
my mother.
How I cry when I think of it... tears overwhelm my being jowadwa.
For my precious ornament lies exposed by the roadside…she may wait for
her lover to return but just as I fear, she may soil her purity to quench the
thirst that burns within
The lusts and passions of one’s youth may consume but I will yet hope and
sing…a song for the one I love.
BY: Otieno Ouma
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Copyright © Otieno Ouma | Year Posted 2023
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