Tuesday 10 September 2013

Under the Umbrella



In the rain we have wept for years
Hoping and wishful thinking about shelter
A refuge from hurt, fear and grieve
If only we have a tenth of our own
If only we can fill the boxes with hope
On the match again we chanted in our wet drenched suits

Progress! Progress! Our lungs hurt with expectation
Well, fellow Nigerians and the rest is history
Our rains became hurricane, flooding our hopes away
In chains we all lived our days, at night we only had the stars
Even the poets were not spared, returned to the earth with his pen!
When will we ever going to have our robes dry, when?

Suddenly the Iroko fell! Felled by the forbidden fruits from south of the east
In loud ovation we danced, finally the stallion will make the tenth
that same night, the stallion was put down before dawn
And yet again under the horrendous rain we stood!
The eagles came home, the owl came back
Years in exile had beaten our birds like a whip

99 was the magic number, prison was the place to be for some
Frap! The umbrella went up! Finally we are saved from the cold
Only of we knew what was in that well, sadly,we all drank in ecstasy
14 moons has passed and the umbrella brought more rain than the Amazon
Death, debt and deep damage, rot beyond the deep Dead Sea
Lifelong lack and living less, lonely and low under the Umbrella!


Wednesday 12 June 2013


June 13


How come I don’t get it?
What is this malignant song all about?
I heard the cat was skinned by the rat
So what? Should the world cease to exist?
From Adam, Cain and Abel has been at it
Years of sharing the spoil without a noise
So why should last night lose its poise?
Or the devil has suddenly changed its side?
The headlines and footnotes all seem to care
Of whom they grew and dine with wine
Justice oh, those fairy tales sucker!
Fairness his sister always in between the fights
Yesterday was a reminder of you loss
That huge coffin carried by the ants
Deprived of the crumbs, sugar and water
All the ants need to stay alive and strong
Now the will the dead, 20 years and fresh
Eulogies from around the clan
Even this year the clowns sang a solo
The melodies of skulls filled with rot
Yesterday was a painful prompt
We lost it a long time ago, yes we did drop it!
Now the rats are even more daring
With big bowels and vacant cavities
So the squirrels are now drawn to the game
A nightmare this is sure must be!
Only to roll over and check my clock!
It’s Thursday June 13, 2013!

                            Omo-Ekun- Ilu-Nla

Monday 10 June 2013


On the March Again!

We are on the march again
Beating the same drums we bought from the queen
The same tunes that was played at our christening
Wait! Something is familiar with this dance
The merry-go-round move that ends with a smash
The falling of the dancers and dropping without a bounce
 Again we start planning for the next trip a day we came home
Fighting for the best seat on the caravan that never seizes to fail
That’s my spot Olu screamed! Segun is driving so what?
Every trip the numbers fall, the coffin at least must be sold
All the supplies gone before the camels rise
Hopes dashed as if it was a game
 1520 is the year of the Gods
The battle between evil and the evil makers
Many said it’s a gentle ride from the start
Now we know the dangers of a quiet peaceful lake
Solemn, silent, snake with sinister venom
Don’t worry about its bite, we will be dancing again!

                                                                                                             Omo-Ekun '13

Sunday 24 March 2013


Prisoners at Will

I am a prisoner in my own home
The only difference is that I have the keys
My bars are cut to exactly to my size
The walls I built with my own biceps
The Parish priest blessed the foundations
Even my enemies celebrated the completion

I am the hunted in my own jungle
A prey to the mouth I fed with grace
Edible game to the spouses of those I freely give
Their dane riffles, I polish with my tax
The pallets we casted in my fathers foundry
Now like I chicken I have gone for the roast

Suddenly, I am told to lock up
My jailers thousand of miles away but,
Sit in your cell! He screams, or be fed to the desert dogs
The fear of the dogs or the screams of the jailer
Both the source of eternal fright
Just last week the dogs eat them all in onak!

Now I have to dig my borrow deeper
With a thousand escape routes to puzzle the hunters
Down! Down!! I dug till I found myself in the zoo
At least, here the hunters are out of bounds
But thought of the forest still makes me wonder
How many prisoners at will will ever get their freedom!

                                                    Omo-Ekun, Ilu-nla '13