ÒGÚNYọMÍ ISRAEL ABÍDÈMÍ

ÒGÚNYọMÍ ISRAEL ABÍDÈMÍ

SONG OF EBONY

I will sing the beauty of the ebony,

I will proclaim her fame

Right from the peak of Kilimanjaro

On the terrain of Tanzania

Across the lakes of the Caribbean seas,

where valourous Buffalos pillaged

From Africa display their enigmatic ebullience.

I will take my song's adventure far,

Reaching the hearts of the distant rivers,

Where wild tempest of slavery

Dispersed her glittering grains

Whose umbilical cords, rude razors

Of colonialism severed from

The ancestors' naive navels.

I will sing of the buoyant boughs

Of tall tropical trees,

Stretching impetuous hands

Upward, aiming high at the ankle of the sky,

Shedding shady shadows on

Flourishing furs of dauntless deer,

Which treads earlier at the dawn

On the brink of serenity, eavesdropping on

The mellifluous melody of a singing stream.

I will call Africa by her black name,

Projecting her aesthetics to the whole world

And the suffering she suffered

By the reason of her dark skin.

ỌKÍN

Háà, Elédùwà, Ọba òkè!

Ó rérin lákátabú Ọlọlá

Ní'nún igbó,

Ó se béè f'olólà ijù j'ọba eranko;

Àìmo'ye Àkùkọ gàgàrà

Ológbe igba shàràshàrà

Lábé igi Ọdán eléwé nlá nílé,

K'édùmàrè ó tó wá yan

Ọkín 'láládé eye.

Eèríi wípé b'ó se w'Ѐdùmàrè níí

Kúkú s'ọla – sebí Sàngó

R'ónírú-irú ìsọ ílèkè lọjà,

K'ótóó lọ toro m'óní mọnkele!

Ọkín dé, ọlójà eye,

Àràmọndà eye ab'asọ àrà-barà

Lára bí ayaba Ọbà!

Ejọwọ, eè se bá mi wo'lé ire f'òkín sí?

Àbí, èèmọn pebe n pèbé!

Ѐwo wá ni t'Àparò o,

Eye'ko agbéraga lásán,

Oníd'òtí, eye ọbùn,

Alasọ pípọn bí ìràwé orí-ilè?

Ọkín nìkan làwà mọn ní t'àwa o,

Eye'ko abì'wà pѐlé bí atégùn ọyé,

Eye'ko ọtingín bí Ìràwọ ojú-ọrun.

E wo'yì wò, e w'èye;

E wò'wà wò, e w'ewà;

E w'asọ Ọkín, arewà eye!

E wo'yì wò, e w'èye;

E wò'wà wò, e w'ewà;

E w'Àbíké ọmọ'bìnrin Ọba!

E wo'yì wò, e w'èye;

E wò'wà wò, e w'ewà;

E w'ọmọge ọlọmún oge,

Ọlọmún oge bí èso Òyìnbó;

Ìbàdí àrán, eléyin'jú egé,

Eléyin'jú egé bí Òsùpá ọgànjọ;

Elésè osùn, adú mára dán,

Adú mára dán bíi kóró Isin;

Èjí wùmí, elèrín òdodo,

Elèrín òdodo bí ìtànán Elégédé;

Oní'wà tútù bíi kókò Àbàtà,

Oní'rọnún bí Àdàbà orí àbá;

À'bèrín múnsé bí ọwọ ìrì

Ìdájí kùtù lára òdòdó ọgbà Àjàrà;

Háà, Àbíké, ọmọ Ọba,

O wùmí púpọ l'óbìnrin!

ABIKE

You rise like a storm from the wing

Of the Northern scion, Abike,

Above the arrogance

Of Sahara's sordid sands,

Placing your seamless elegance

Atop the pride of Nature.

Abike, fresher you are

Than a freshly hatched dawn,

Peeping out of the cracked

Carapace of the night;

Tenderer you are even than the

Morning dew, moistening

Wild spines of cactus plants.

Perfect are your teeth, Abike,

Perfect and stronger than several

Tons of corn-cobs, smiling shyly

At the competitive birds,

Racing on the cardboard of the sky,

Through frail openings of there raffish raffia

Like an elated masquerader

Behind the confidence of his comic costume.

Your beautiful black skin

Lends the Coal his complex complexion,

Borrows the night her great garment,

Under which timid nocturnal

Creatures take a refreshing refuge.

Abike,

You are the Savannah,

A heavenly haven of the

Great green lemon grasses!

AKÚRÚYE’JÓ

Stay not aloof, Akúrúye’jó;

Be rather gay, not a gay

At this jocose junction,

Where the beak of concerto

Gradually breaks the shell of dusk,

To hatch a nebulous dawn,

Whose tremulous tongue stimulates

The clitoris of consciousness,

After some long hours of impatient incubation

In the belly of the night.

Disown the mask of timidity

And roll your rotund hips

To the rhythms of my songs.

Give ear, you’ll hear:

There are lovely lyrics

In the belly of the night;

And here, we shall suck night’s

Strength, straw the lyrics in her bowel.

Be not the moon in the day

Nor the sun in the night!

Cuddle not the pillar of coyness,

There is no crime in shortness;

For it, Zaccheaus earned much kudos.

Save the stress, I’ll un-stretch

To match your matchless height.

The deal must here be done.

Scold not the nature, no partiality yet;

Ward off the shame,

Shake up the shapes;

Assume the sport, engage my steps.

There are tasks ahead undone,

Yet to all, we must be just.

Leave a trail, trap the prey;

Set the bait, lure the fish;

Rush at me, pull my tail;

Let your sheath hide my spear.

Let’s together, through pathless

Walls of stalemates tear our path,

The game, over and over, to start afresh.

ÒGÚNYọMÍ ISRAEL ABÍDÈMÍ

ÒGÚNYọMÍ ISRAEL ABÍDÈMÍ hails from Owode-Ofaro, Ifelodun Local Government Area Kwara State, Nigeria. He graduated with a second class (upper division) from the Department of Philosophy, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State; Nigeria. He was a Production Manager for ANA-Osun (O.A.U. Branch) for a year and a Poetry Columnist/ Production Manager at The Critic, Department of Philosophy, O.A.U. (also for a year). His works have been published in various creative websites online. He is the winner of NIBSTEARS  POETRY CAVE Yoruba poetry competition in 2016.