Imole Olusanya

Omitoro was once a thriving kingdom in Yorubaland, renowned for its deep-rooted traditions. Among these customs, one stood above all: whatever the town crier proclaimed had to be obeyed without question. Disobedience invited calamity, so the town crier was always thoroughly briefed before he ever lifted his gong to spread news across the land. During the reign of one mighty king, Omitoro was blessed with twin princes, Fade and Bade . At that time, the town crier was a modest and responsible man named Awire . His honesty and skill in delivering messages earned him the unwavering trust of both the king and his people. The entire kingdom admired him. The king’s sons, however, were a different story. Born into wealth and privilege, Fade and Bade grew up believing the world lay beneath their feet. Their arrogance dismayed their good-hearted father, as they treated the common folk with little more than contempt. Awire, like many others, was not spared their scorn. The princes often mocked ...

While flying over you, weakling,   We saw you — with your fully empty head,   Harbouring the thought of superiority.   We could have looked away;   We saw one of yours, bitten by a snake,   Writhing in pain, no help in sight.   We could have helped him;   We saw you bathing in a room with no roof,   Scraping the dirt outside, while the inside remained clogged.   We could have looked away;   We saw your neighbour selling your son,   The same son you declared missing days ago.   We could have foiled his plans;   We saw your leaders feasting with the culprits,   The same culprits who disturbed the sea.   We could have frustrated them;   But lo,   And behold —   We saw one of mine, wings broken,   Sprawling on the dark brown earth.   We saw your sons and daughters watch,   With faces ...

  Pot besieges charcoal Charcoal rages Pot is heated. Egg attacks water Water seethes Egg boils. Trash frustrates fire Fire flares up Trash burns. Flour invades oil Oil fumes Flour is captivated. We order our minds Our minds rebel We wail.

Beloved brethren, Look at me trying to better my life Exposing my delicate skin as fair as the moon, While it is ready to depart the sky To the noon angry sun, making a living, Begging like a mendicant without a begging bowl That people may take a look at my unlucky wares Time used to be walking on slippery floors But now it is limping on slippery sloppy floors. Beloved brethren, Look at me now expanding my coast, With many heads at my beck and call Cain and Ahittophel like weeds had sprung up in my beautiful garden and I had separated them from the soil beneath I am making merry but Time is no longer treading on boggy ground It is now in possession of metallic wings.

  I have eaten cheeses the softest cheese; I have eaten nuts the hardest nut; I have eaten sweets the sweetest sweet; I have eaten biles the bitterest bile; I have been given a couple of packages; the wildest squirms and the loveliest tickles; the half-moon sometimes remained stable in my sky while the full moon played hide and seek; the cheerful sun made me want to swear and the sorrowful sky’s tears foiled my plans; the kind light gave me a ray of hope and the sinister darkness comforted me best; I have had a bit of all they had had a bit of all; these bits swallowed them I swallowed these bits.

  Nutty in he went berserk like a bull gored the tall poked the short. Sweet out he glistened with his glitz bowed to the old a belly laugh with the young. Like water dabbled in unstable guile like a chasm covered with a golden flannel attractive hoax. Man eye cool muddy inside maniacal master of words benighted fellas believe he is benign.

When you stab You pierce hard;  When you soothe It is like the refreshing wind  When one is soaked with sweat  from throttling heat. You are like a word left unsaid  No hearer can discern it; You are the dream of pharaoh  The very content of manifestos  The weight of wisdom in a fool's ravings  Empty void null. Comforting agony  Refuge from labour  Citadel from torture An escape from duty  The bereaved's best friend  The blind's loyal pal. During your reign, There existed a seeker  who groped in nothing less; A seeker who collided with walls  when within his reach was what he sought. Here is a poem about darkness. The poet describes darkness by attributing human qualities to it. The first stanza starts with ‘when you stab, you pierce hard’, this could result from how engulfing darkness can be; it dominates. ‘When you soothe, it is like the…’, the remaining lines speak of the sweet part of darkness. Darkness soothes, especi...