Wednesday, March 1, 2017

ÒGÚNYọMÍ ISRAEL ABÍDÈMÍ


ÒGÚNYMÍ 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.




KÍN

Háà, Elédùwà, ba òkè!
Ó rérin lákátabú l
Ní'nún igbó,
Ó se béè f'olólà ijù j'ba eranko;

Àìmo'ye Àkùk gàgàrà
Ológbe igba shàràshàrà
Lábé igi dán eléwé nlá nílé,
K'édùmàrè ó tó wá yan
kín 'láládé eye.

Eèríi wípé b'ó se w'Ѐdùmàrè níí
Kúkú s'la – sebí Sàngó
R'ónírú-irú ìs ílèkè ljà,
K'ótóó l toro m'óní mnkele!

kín dé, lójà eye,
Àràmndà eye ab'as àrà-barà
Lára bí ayaba bà!
Ejw, eè se bá mi wo'lé ire f'òkín sí?

Àbí, èèmn pebe n pèbé!
Ѐwo wá ni t'Àparò o,
Eye'ko agbéraga lásán,
Oníd'òtí, eye bùn,

Alas pípn bí ìràwé orí-ilè?
kín nìkan làwà mn ní t'àwa o,
Eye'ko abì'wà pѐlé bí atégùn yé,
Eye'ko tingín bí Ìràw ojú-run.

E wo'yì wò, e w'èye;
E wò'wà wò, e w'ewà;
E w'as kín, arewà eye!
E wo'yì wò, e w'èye;
E wò'wà wò, e w'ewà;
E w'Àbíké m'bìnrin ba!

E wo'yì wò, e w'èye;
E wò'wà wò, e w'ewà;
E w'mge lmún oge,
lmún oge bí èso Òyìnbó;

Ìbàdí àrán, eléyin'jú egé,
Eléyin'jú egé bí Òsùpá gànj;
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'rnún bí Àdàbà orí àbá;
À'bèrín múnsé bí w ìrì
Ìdájí kùtù lára òdòdó gbà Àjàrà;
Háà, Àbíké, m ba,
O wùmí púp 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.

ÒGÚNYMÍ ISRAEL ABÍDÈMÍ


ÒGÚNYMÍ 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.

No comments :

Post a Comment