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 </div><p></p><figure id="attachment_3942" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3942" style="width: 419px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://wordsrhymesandrhythm.wordpress.com/?attachment_id=3942#main" rel="attachment wp-att-3942"><img class="size-full wp-image-3942" alt="Misguided Venture" src="http://poetry.wrr.ng/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/misguided-venture.jpg" width="419" height="322" loading="lazy"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3942" class="wp-caption-text">www.facebook.com/WRRPoetry <strong>[Misguided Venture]</strong></figcaption></figure>Wreaths of impiety adorn your necks,<br>
Held sway under the hypnosis of zealotry.<br>
The chant of the faithful is a wail of blasphemy;<br>
The altar of promise, a slaughter slab of demise;<br>
The howl at dawn, a summons for the Fraternity;<br>
Anointed assassins for the just cause.
<p>The land is a cesspit for my brother,<br>
Born to churn the Book and nothing more.<br>
Duplicity yields meaning for its contents,<br>
To whet the cravings of the Alpha.<br>
Pledge your essence to my Head –<br>
Pledge it to this Imperial Wisdom.<br>
Fresh lilies await you, to be plucked,<br>
Sweet nectar of drunken relish.</p>
<p>Men of flowing garments misconstrue<br>
The persuasiveness of ‘It is written’<br>
Men of girded loins misconstrue<br>
The lust of shekels for Sanctified Call<br>
Each tree craves independent growth<br>
But bananas possess suckers for a reason.<br>
You are called – yes:<br>
Into contempt of Sovereignty.<br>
I weep from my abode,<br>
At this misguided venture.</p>
<p>The meuzzin is faulted; the Meal is profaned,<br>
Reason is lathered, frothing crimson;<br>
Proselytizing is the bane of this venture<br>
Serpents crawl on the platter of ambition –<br>
The gnarled finger of politics prods,<br>
Tastes the cream of your innocence.</p>
<p>Children grope blinded,<br>
Seeking to drink of a manifestation;<br>
The Bull offers fronds of fulfillment<br>
With a wide heart and<br>
A sleight of intention.<br>
Pliant hearts are molded and glazed;<br>
Mechanical response, an impulse of ignorance.</p>
<p>There is a fly in the ointment.<br>
The scent of rose is sweet, intoxicating;<br>
As its thorns prick and pierce.<br>
We are pierced with the forked tongue of the<br>
Worm:<br>
Our actions reek of folly –<br>
Poison-tipped probes rape the mind,<br>
Snuggling deep in its gullible confines.</p>
<p>All this will come and many more,<br>
But the End is not in sight.<br>
‘Tis the bane of existence, this venture –<br>
Oh, this misguided venture.</p>
<p><em>*This poem was shortlisted in the Eriata Oribabor Poetry Prize.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:right;">Written by: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ogundiran.toby" target="_blank">Ogundiran Ajibola ‘toby</a><br>
Edited by: Kukogho Iruesiri Samson</p>
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