spilledwoords
“Poetry burns in our hearts with the passionate heat of a lover’s embrace.”
Paradox
Land of beauty. Land of the beautiful.
Land of our fathers – valiant men n’ women
Land of dreamers, who dreamt big
for our land, for our people.
Land of dreams that have turned pipe dreams
Land of promise. Land of promise breakers
Land of abundance. Land of scarcity.
Land of few rich n’ many poor.
Land flowing with milk n’ honey
but not for the milked, the dispossessed.
Land of different Justice Scale for different folks
Land of inequalities. Land of contradictions –
rich nation, poor citizens;
“A cruel place for poor flocks.”
Land blessed by God but cursed with bad leaders
A giant reduced to pygmy
by its successive predatory leadership
Land we want to love, yet have many reasons not to
Land we call our native land, but treat like an enemy territory
How can we call a nation – “our own dear native land”
yet despoil her every second in our every thought n’ action?
Land of strange children
who make the Biblical prodigal son a saint
Land blessed with black gold,
but cursed with gamblers and money changers
‘Ill-gotten – ill-spent’ resource managers
Who have gambled away our fortunes
and turned the joy of the black gold to ashes.
Land we call Nigeria. Land we call our country
The Green-White country
Green for fertility – our agricultural prowess
Fertility in all aspects of our lives
A nation living in justice, plenty and peace
Where’s the heartbeat of this nation – justice?
Where are the plenty, where is the peace?
Copyright © 2018. SpilledWoords. All rights reserved.
Recent Posts: spilledwoords
A Fortnight Today
A fortnight today,they will rationalize their actions –‘Keeping the Peace’and forget what they did. There was no CLAMP DOWN! A fortnight today,their victims would still reminisce;their ordeal they’ll pass on fromfather to child, from siblings to neighbors. There was a CLAMP DOWN! A fortnight today,how quickly Propaganda will rewrite historysay it once, say it again […]
Conspiracy
Nothing works against the successof a scheme so much as a wish to makeit wholly secured n’ sure to succeed.Such an attempt requires many men,much time and very favorable conditions;these heighten the risk of being discovered –how daring, how O dangerous!Yes, Conspiracy has a human heart –cold n’ calculating, fearsome n’ fearful – most unscrupulous. […]
Helter-skelter
Helter-skelter in the cityThe mall strangely in disarray –Smashed windows, ransacked shelves. Citizen: “Liberty! Liberty is in town. It’s a protest!”Government: “No, no, Citizen! Be on your guard!Law and Order now cower at your feet, too timid to act.” Soldiers, to the street! Forward march!Load fresh bullets in your gunsOff the safety catch, pull the […]
By the Tollgate
By the tollgate at Lekki, by the roadsidefar from the comforts of our loved oneseased from the day-to-day tasks we abidethere we sat in anguish n’ anger – agitated. Placards we brought with us –a solace to our heavy hearts,a plead to the world to hearbut soon we found we’ve upset our censors. With resentment, […]
Weapon
The will to power destroys the power to will.The weapon made, we cannot help but use it;it drags us with its own momentum still. The power to kill compounds the need to kill.Grown out of hand, the heart cannot refuse it;the will to power undoes the power to will. Though as we strike we cry […]
