Nature dance

Nature dance is a 39 stanza piece that is written to be lyrical. It opens by asking question about some mundane things such as a rooster's ability to tell dawn. It continues by examining different parts of a typical day, beginning from dawn, through noon, to dusk and back to dawn. Here is Nature dance:

Nature dance

1.
By what ancient wisdom
Does the rooster tell dawn,
When moon mares snore away
In the twinkling bosom of spying skies?
Good morning America
Good morning Europe
Good morning Asia
Welcome Africa.
2.
What lore tutored the cock,
In the science of time telling?
3.
Tell me Nwalemu
Was it not an ant yawn ago
A mere twinkle
When you taught the sleepy wisdom of past dawns?

Mourning

The loss of my best friend several years ago was a humbling experience. I had always known how fragile life is but it was not until his death that I gained a deeper appreciation of the life that we have. His memory still lives in my heart like it was yesterday. Here is:

Mourning

Not that you went, to return another day
But that you went, never again to return,
And on your tombstone let it read;
“ Here lies a great youth whose sun set at dawn”

The news of your death ripped through the town
Like a hurricane
Leaving behind a trail of anguish
And everywhere the people gathered
Their faces graffitied with grief
They are talking about Emma Wayas.

About Abuja, I do not know
I have never been there;
I only remember as far back as home.

I heard you fell out
I heard you jumped out
I heard you fought Death
But in the end Death triumphed.

Suleja was where you met Death
When I think of her, I remember you with love
On that busy expressway and
The tragedy that is your death.

Suleja has since become the origin
Of my grief
I have nothing against her
But raw sadness;
And one day, just one day
I hope to see her face to face
And to ask;
WHY?

Bits and pieces of yesterday and me

September 11, 2001 we watched as the forces of hate and evil wrecked havoc on families from around the world. It was beyond words. Here is a short piece that tries to capture the mood of that infamous day. Here is:

Bits and Pieces of yesterday and me

Shattered lives! Broken dreams!
Mangled metals! Lost loves!
Bits and pieces of yesterday and me
What is left but pain?

Where is your beauty, September?
Where is your love?
You shall forever live in infamy.
Shame unto you.

This more of an excerpt from a much longer copy. The whole piece will be released in an eBook very soon.

The Camelot

It is amazing how four decades after the brutal and cold blooded murder of President Kenedy, those who should be in the know are still asking who killed the Camelot. Makes me wonder who is working for who? Here is The Camelot. Enjoy!

The Camelot

Exit the Camelot
May his soul rest in peace
The Camelot!
He was a good man
Living in dangerous times
This one was for the people
They admired him
And he adored them
But the good,
Bless his soul
They never last
And the Camelot
In cold blood
In broad day light
Was cut down
And more than four decades after
They ask
“Who killed the Camelot”

Pax humana

There is so much hate in the world today. Presidents and prime ministers around the world make eloquent speeches about the global village and new world order, but there is nothing new in this emerging order. It is the same old greed and deciet that has fostered numerous conflicts around the world. Short and direct, Pax humana speaks to the need for true love amongst the peoples of the world.

Pax humana

Lost in hate
What we need is love
To usher in peace
Steadfast and honest
A Pax humana
So to speak.

Nature's monuments

Several years ago, while driving to California from Texas, I passed through Alberqerque. From the very instant I saw the place, I fell in love with her monuments. And every time I pass through her, I still feel the same sense of awe I felt the very first time. Alberqerque is an amazing place. Here is a haiku for Alberqerque.

Nature’s monuments

Nature’s monuments
Make me feel Alberqerque
Like Native Indians.

Profound

When you are in love or think you are in love, nothing else matters. And I think that is the way it should be because love sees counts no errors, and endures all things. Check this out.

Profound

You are warm like love
Penetrating like beauty
Profound like wisdom.

Each day everyday,
My love ends where your beauty begins
And if I could, I would never
Carry forward the dung of yester loves;

Yet you chip away at my heart
Like a skillful adze at wood.

How could something so wrong
Feel so right?

But,

In this time of vultures,
Good and evil are clear ground
As in the time of war.

What a doggie dog world!

You are warm like love,
Penetrating like beauty
Profound like wisdom.

Reason

Reason is a poem that speaks to some of the uncautionable things that happen in societies today. Sometimes when I read this poem, I think about the disturbances that have become common place in our world today. You be the judge. Here is

Reason

To kill an ant with a sledge!
And cut a twig with an ax
O reason! Why have men forsaken the middle path?
And trod the way of savage brutes.

To cut a twig with an ax
And kill a fly with a shell;
O reason! What has befallen unthinking-man
And thinking-man has fled to savage deeds.

Fail fast

Fail fast is a poem that speak to me and I believe to many other people. You know how we learn some basic principles and sometimes when it comes time to use it, we delibrately forget.

One of the things I learned earlier in life is to fail fast. However, several years ago I was involve in a business venture that was not going anywhere. I knew I needed to fail fast, but some how, I deluded myself into believing that it will be alright. I was not.

I know now why it was hard for me to fail fast.


Fail fast

“ Learn to fail fast”
My teacher once told me,
His language very precise.
I remember him with nostalgia
Having lived that experience
And not heed his advice
The play on his face
And the cynicism in his voice

A three year old

Here is one that could pass for giggle.

I had just graduated from high school and signed up for what was known then in Nigeria as "Auxilary Teaching". I was posted to a village not too far from my home town. I secured a one room apartment with one of the locals. The bathroom and toilet were makeshift structures. You made a door to the bathroom with your towel or blanket.

One day while I was in there taking a shower, my landlord's little three year old walked in on me. Here is a little poem I did about that incident.

A three year old

A three year old
Once walked in on me in the shower,
“ Sir, you have the same thing that my father has”
He told me in his native tongue.
I wondered what it was that his father had;
But that was many years ago.
I believe the lad has since become just like his father

A piece of me

One of the things I like about poetry is that it gives you vent for pentup feelings. Here is a very short poem about a lost love. Enjoy it.

A piece of me

A cryptic autumn morning
Your fragrance a little stale,
Behind the mist, a piece of me
Went with you.