You and I by Vivian Odey
You slumber, I sleep you feast, I eat you laugh, I chuckle you travel far and wide, I imagine far and wide You say “thank you lord” I say “God why me?” You get all you ask for I get all I never ask for You are the voice of the people I am a voiceless voice you are postrated for I am shouted upon You commit a major crime It is swept under the carpet I commit a minor crime I am sentence to life imprisonment You and I Are two parallel lines That can never meet Why not? You and I Are two parallel lines That can meet In death you and I Will meet again Behold, death is our common Ancestral lineage Because you and I Can not stop for death, It will kindly and willingly Stop for us. So Let you and I Experience the bitter…
Cannibals By Ofem Ubi
Of all things to be done with money Of all the homeless, hungry and hopeless children loitering and littering the starved streets of this ancient city Of all the insecurities and police brutalities Of all ignoble social vices and communal clashes Of all the lack and late payment of salaries Of all the outdated hospital facilities, bad transport systems and traffic Of all the countless nameless projects abandoned like old unused currencies Of all the indiscriminate felling of trees Of all the teaming teenage pregnancies in our little villages Of all obvious pot holes, inadequate electricity and tourist sites waiting to be beautified like brides on the day of their matrimonies The only thing our eyes set sight on to spare resources is an annual December ritual festival called CARNIVAL From a birds eye I see I see “Africa’s Biggest Street Party”, nothing but an army of lost but precious…
EDEN BEFORE EDEN BY OFEM UBI
I’m from a place where agriculture found its birth Where the grasses grow greener regardless of the seasons reasons because over here fruitfulness is not voluntary but compulsory A place where the sun steadfastly shines and brightens the dark face of earth I’m from a place where stars hang in the night sky like clips taking shots of humanity in peaceful slumber A place which is not more or less a tourist site for heaven, the footstool of the Holy Trinity A place I call Eden before Eden Where everything was free and animals could converse with man as if they were made of same skin, image and likeness I’m from a place, the cradle of civilization Where science said it’s first Hello to the world from the other side And creativity did a soft work on the imaginations of men falling down from the white clouds of heaven like…
LOVOPHOBIA BY OFEM UBI
Am scared of and to love It dreads me severely like a Nollywood movie ghost longing for my soul in the dark Am afraid of the four lettered word Because it turns me into a breathing skeleton It lays bare the true me and makes me vulnerable It breaks down my armor and strips me naked turning me into nothing but prey to spears, arrows and bullets of heartbreak Love turns me into a fool Constantly making me fantasize about that one person I can’t stay seconds without thinking of It makes me smile unconsciously It makes people think am few steps closer to being crazy Cos with her on the phone I unknowingly start kicking stones, plucking hibiscus flowers and roaming around like a helpless child on the busy streets of Calabar It makes me feel weak Because I accept my flaws and mistakes choosing peace instead of pride…
These Words are Edible By Nature Photographer | Ogar Monday
Ogar Monday is a journalist with crossriverwatch, a street photographer an art lover with an addiction to shapes, size and colour. These words are edible Like a sweet scenting plate of Jollof rice Seasoned with slivers of gingers That have passed through the sizzling of dancing power oil Carefully designed with springs of green onion These words soothe my soul These words are edible Like a freshly prepared hot plate of Afang soup Punctuated with shelly Nfi’s And floating with thick kpomo’s That needs a second bite to conquer These words calm my spirit These words are edible Like Mama Nkechi’s Egusi soup Forever married to lily pounded yam Both adorned in green ugwu leaf These words make me whole These words, Spoken by many tongues and understood by all By lovers to their kind Short but saying all that needs said “I Love You” Read Ogar’s poem I No…
ONE THOUSAND APPOINTEES BY JESAM EKO
The sky is immense, but grows no grass The speeches are intense,but yields no fruits That’s what the oracle said to the obong To whom the great God gave the reins of people’s Paradise. God of the Efiks I stretch out my hands Give the reins of the land to me He appointed the Akpans the king of leaves and the Ominis it’s deputy He appointed the sea the King of waters and the lagoon it’s deputy. He invited the lion and fox to the last supper at obudu. He invited one thousand appointees and more… The harvested cocoyam must be shared equally he said, Double palava for dead body. The lion has eaten the cocoyam and now wants to eat the fox. I lack a stool in my jungle the lion insist.. I doff my hat and prostrate I must go now Let the new office suit them oh…
Preacher By Ajor James
You are the doomed Who announces the doom You are the holiest That hoards holiness You are the heaven Heading to hell You are the sick Who houses the sicks You are the want Who takes their wants You are the bait They are the prey Adupe people Singing Hosanna in the highest Your passionate intrepidity and temerity Renders them languid Your pernicious eyes Sees a dusky future Oh ignoramus pertinacious People Hear the preacher’s call Give to your Father in Heaven Stay hungry on earth Yes! Tomorrow knows itself Give him legs Give him your hands Keep your head And have your fates Give him your neck Never you shed a blood Build him a flat He stays in heaven Abraham, Jephthah gave him a child The preacher has spoken. By Ajor James Akwugiobe Ajor James Akwugiobe is a final year student of UNICAL in the department of English…
Colours of Pain by Mazpa
Eyes of blazing blue Flames of fading fortune Reflection of dying dew- That fell from a twisted tribune. Lips of yelling yellow Voices of feminine fear Filling her lungs, yet it be hollow Longing for a touch of crisp care. Blood of boiling black Flowing through vessels weak Filling up unending cracks Today’s comfort, tomorrow’s bleak. Heart of restless red Burning ember in the liquid night Suffocating in the absence of shades shared With friends, in the presence of lost light. Rainbow – Colours of peaceful pain Rolling fear, stumbling dreams Hues of abject agony They dye my past, and paint my future. About Mazpa Mazpa Ekejiuba-Ejikem is a medical student, a leisure writer. He spends most of his time reading and writing and when in a good mood, talking. He loves trueness of reality, the existence of nature
Crack crack Boom By Nigerian Soldier | Bentem Josef
Crack crack Boom That was the sound that brought their doom The battle was at its peak Now, no one could afford to be weak Fires of big guns, bombs and its hellish heat Many will rather go six feet The battle field, deserted You’re alone with a thousand dead But it seems like you’re in a market place With every one’s eye giving you a chilling gaze “Where are these ones now?” We were together before they took their bow Dead here, alive there They watch from up above, o mortals that depend on air Soon it would be cut off And the soul shall be ripped off this fleshy stuff To join those that were late too early And you meet a reality realer than a Telly Then you ask, “was it worth the fight?” “I should have used my days doing right” Just like mummified cadavas We…
HAUNTED MELODIES BY NUEKI (GHANA)
It felt like dead roses, Until the corrosive spat of the wind Washed itself on the dark wall of delight. A heart, now turned into a turmoil of gaze. A calotype of pain Cleaving hard unto a mist of a radiant gloom. The bells rang, Pointing up to the sky Frozen by midday. Shadows of night pleaders wait Behind the windows of thought. Her lips, A foamy sovereignty of wisdom, A stream flowing through an Ancient infirmity A stare from the loops of discernment Just like an ocean of lust Dribbling from the cold cavities of her chest. Between always and never, the night turned into an amity of truth. With the heaven craving for a song. PRISCILLA NUEKI QUARSHIE. Bio Priscilla Nueki Quarshie is a promising Ghanaian poetess who is not only passionate about poetry and literature but also about beadworks. Her quill met the art and deeply fell…
Looking Forward by NGO Professional And Writer | Ivie Eke
My feet beat a determined path on the ground. I am walking towards my future this time around. There are many obstacles; challenges abound. So many things are happening, so many ups and downs. But I walk with my head high; insecurities are nowhere to be found. Nothing can stop me now, neither lions nor rabid hounds. I see a future lined with gold, or just Dollars and Pounds. I am going where I am supposed to be, in success I am bound. They try to call me back—I can hear the sounds. ‘You can’t catch me now!’ I shout aloud. The works of my hands will be fruitful; I will make my family proud. I take deliberate strides towards my future, like a wind-propelled cloud. ©Ivie M. Eke 2015 This poem first appeared on classicallyivy.com on December 14th, 2015. About Author Ivie is an NGO Professional and a Writer of…
For You By Ebundola Ayodele
For you I would climb the highest mountain peak swim the deepest ocean your love I do seek. For you I would cross the rivers most wide walk the hottest desert sand to have you by my side. For you are the one who makes me whole you’ve captured my heart and touched my soul. For you are the one that stepped out of my dreams gave me new hope showed me what love means. For you alone are my reason to live for the compassion you show and the care that you give. You came into my life and made me complete each time I see you my heart skips a beat. For you define beauty in both body and mind your soft, gentle face more beauty I’ll ne’er find. For you are the one God sent from above the angel I needed for whom I do love. By…
Someday I Will Marry A Photographer by Ayo
Some day I’m going to get married to a Photographer. A man who artistically appreciates every moment shared. A man who appreciates nature. A man who sees more of my inner beauty than the outward. A man who looks at me and edits every mistake he sees in me, and when he tries so hard to edit but no amount of filter he uses can make me better, he still would not give up but would come back another day to continue. A man who sees so much when he looks at me. I’m not asking for another Maker, trust me, but all I want is someone who sees, appreciates life and understands why we live it. By Ebundola Ayodele About Author Ebundola Ayodele is a Nigerian Ghanaian based creative with a nack for media and entrepreneurship. An administrator by training, she manages to combine her daily responsibility around writing,…