POETRY


I AM A WILL
Dedicated to the abolitionist William Wilberforce

I am a will
I am a force
I am the will that makes the force, the force
The ear that list, that list, that listens
To the shrill cry of the bound ones
A cry that pierce the ear like a Roman spear
A cry to sooth an anguished soul

Marauders horde liners with soles
Plunging hearts, bruised backs
A Vague trail on the waterbed
Unsure and unconvinced
If a holiday was appropriate to the other side
Or a bad dream that will soon end

The night and her star fell with gloom
Homing birds nestle in far flung nests
Crickets chirp in the undergrowth afar
Seagulls slide easy and free beneath
But hapless warriors sardined forlornly in the underbelly
To listen unto death songs


The groans, the moans, the gnashing of teeth
The bleeding, the dancing on thorns,
And the wordless hum reminded us
We are free, that we ones were at least
And would again be
Usher in our profound God-given right

Both with words and sight
we saw a glory, a glory for all
a glory, yea a glory without cremation
to set all men on an equal pedestal
it made us fight hard and more

We died to ourselves,
But to our goal, we will forever live
Secure a future that can’t be stirred
Neon eyed gods beset us
Our world betrayed us
And our shade, though, light became a burden to us

And listen from the underbellies
Clanging daggers, uprising in city corners
That saw jackal teeth in dark flesh
And a henchman knocks on the door mesh
The twins chase us
They still chase us
They still horde us
You are still chasing us




WHAT SHALL WE DO AT A TIME LIKE THIS?

Shall we sing a song and celebrate?
Clap our hands and strut our behinds?
Jump and dance till our bosoms complain
Bruise our toe as we relish a time like this
5 A time, a vassary of away time ago of a passing law

Shall we make an alter, burn an offering
Wear Afric attire made in cowry to dance?
Or shall we play Wilberforce’s heartache
And the homesick noir on a medieval set
10 To remember our duped comrades

Shall we drink and toast—western styleế
Smiling at cocktails with the social crème
Bow tied, starched khaki and an Anglo-Saxon tongue to go
Taking photo with our western wife and blended child
15 Horrors of middle passage—a comic show?

Shall the face be screwed and fist clenched
Teeth tongue tied today throughout
Shall all else be to blame and us the saint
A bout of cursing, mebbe to win our blended child some foe
20 Cast our soul that seek awareness to eternal mystification

Shall we motion for recompense for inhumanity and bigotry?
Teach our blended kid the secrets multiplication and multitudes
Teach our kids on pantheism and the merciful God
And the guile that today drone in the ear like operation trident
25 To buffer the poor blended child from self destruction

What would a loved child do at a time like this?
Shall he pray or sing and give thanksgiving alms?
Be merry knowing all is well.
What shall an unloved child do at a time this like?
30 Love or unloved, what shall we do at a time like this?

Gbenga Diran Afolabi © 2007




I AM GREAT BECAUSE I SERVE


I can be great because I’m a free man
I am great because I’m a positive man
I can be great because I can learn
I am great because I learn always
I can be great because I can forgive
I am great because I forgive and let go
I can be great because I can focus
I am great because I am focused on great things
I can be great because I can change the world for the better
I am great because I change my world for the better
I can be great because I can serve
I am great because I serve
I can be great with breathe in me
I can be great with you with me
I am great because I serve.


© 2007 GBENGA DIRAN AFOLABI