Read Time:1 Minute, 49 Second
THE ROCKS HAIL YOU (I)
for Niyi Osundare The rocks hail you; *Olosunta sends its warm regard. you are the god of metaphor, the stylist that created a new style. You brought us from the valley of obscurantism, into the mountain top of lucid and technical writings. you are the town crier of the marketplace, your metal gong talks to the low, and stares the high in the face. The rocks hail you; *Orole sends its greeting. you are the people’s poet, the sage of the marketplace, the heartbeat of the masses. the mother earth is your muse; the poor’s plight, your inspiration, no more musings of elitism. you are the bard that made the marketplace, the centre stage. The rocks hail you; *Ose and *Oguru bow in utmost respect. a man’s name is of utmost importance; you were born into honour, suck the breasts of honour, bathed with the herb of courtesy. no wonder at birth, the ancient divining chain named you, *ANIYIKAYE.
THE ROCKS HAIL YOU (II)
for Niyi Osundare The rocks hail you; the eyes of the rocks shine at your voice. the legs of the hills dance dexterously, at the rhythmicity of your verses. How can I describe you? --- the deity of orality, the mouth of musicality, the lord of lyricism, the bard with the songs of lore, the metal gong, that unravels mysteries with the proverbial. the pen of mastery; the thorn in the flesh of the tormentors. the wordsmith; the blood of words runs through your veins. born and bred in the house of words; a legal son of the word. I touched the hem of the garment of your humility; the blood of arrogance flowing through my veins, ceased. I bathed in the pool of your simplicity, and I was cleansed of the leprosy of my rigidity. The rocks hail you; the voices of the flora and fauna ring loud, they are waving and shouting; *ANIYIKAYE. NOTES *Olosunta and *Orole, are two ancestral rocks in Ikere Ekiti. *Ose and *Oguru, are two ancestral rocks in Emure Ekiti. *ANIYIKAYE means someone who is honoured globally.
Dunni Ebenco is a Nigerian poet, evangelist, and agripreneur.
