Breaking butterflies from their dark cocoon
I have filled full
The brown calabashs of the coconuts
That swayed their fronds against the wind
Their dance had captured my eyes
But their fruits did not touch my lips
The song of the weaver bird has awakened
The sun, and the skies must wipe their tears
From the face of the earth
The stubborn weeds shall reach down into the deep
Seeking new roots
The wanderer shall stumble upon
Another story to colour his days
And another dream
To fill up the empty sky at night
with enough quest and questions
To last a million heartbeats.
What will a man hide in the cave
That the blind bat will never find
How far must the sea spread its blue
That the river will not run and follow.
Alas I can never freely run
The meandering river of time
Entrusting all my faith in its green waters
Like the mackerel or the salmon
Nor can I return with the stars upon my face
The path I had once taken
Across seven hills and seven rivers
Across the wilderness
Through thorns and thickets
The fallow land, -the embrace of the red earth
Where tread the black virgins with their jugs
Walking the winding ways of our forefathers
The path of honest men
Is the lonely road
Their place is the wilderness
That is why the world does not recognise them
That is why only a few can take heart and follow
Alas I can only sit by the bank of this river
And weep
Offering my tears as libation
To the mermaid of the sea
“Oh Mermaid, oh mother,
In your presence alone have I come to see
That all my quest and questions
Are but a chase after the wind.”
Written by: Okoye Chukwudi Ezeamalukwuo Solar
Edited by: Kukogho Iruesiri Samson
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