Tears of oil Graveyard of petals Bloomed and buried Right before the sun caress Where lies the roots Shedding tears of oil Dialogue of drunk gloats Today the giant of Africa Stood like a barricaded water North to South Windows zipped Harvest of rage Verbal artillery Citing on claw papers Sovereign massacre Rape of headlines… Continue reading TEARS OF OIL by Awa Chigozie Jerome
Tag: oil
MY COUNTRY HAS OIL
My country has oil! A British company struck it. Now, the Germans will sell more rigs, The Chinese will get more road tenders, The Americans will feign disinterest… Then probably send troops To quell nonexistent intra clan clashes. My politicians will grow fatter My skies will darken, My plants will dry, My fish will die,… Continue reading MY COUNTRY HAS OIL
SHELL US TILL WE BECOME SHELLS
See, I live by the river, yet drink from pipes For the waters are mere oily stripes On the scarred back of our ravaged farms For which our sons once bore arms… So there is no casava for kpokpogarri And fishing nets stay empty, though we tarry by @BrainyPoet
OLD SOLDIER NEVER DIES
When I hear hopeless denizens Hooting like night owls Perched on frail branches Of smooth-bark Iroko trees Begging life’s support From crevices of rocky tablets Painted by your seductive brush That only flowed to calm urgy-nerves Of frustrated trusts seeking justice; When yester-memories flashback fresh bloody scenes Of Eight Ogoni men Tied to a stake… Continue reading OLD SOLDIER NEVER DIES
KILLING THE DELTA
Charged with a new sense of reasoning We broke through steel cracks of old Found Laughters in packs of wet innocence We are pushing change for our people, Fed with same old story, yes same story In diverse ways and nomenclatures These terrible moments, unchanging moments. We see them working ”hard” for their share Digging… Continue reading KILLING THE DELTA
REMINISCENCE (for Saro Wiwa)
The rope dangled His lifeless-body danced The executioner laughed The heavens shut eyes! Outside, we opened hands Pleading for his life and his friends’ We threw away dresses When it was obvious we’d lost! Seventeen years have gone by We’ve been here, hoping That the rain or sun would message us hope But nothing brings… Continue reading REMINISCENCE (for Saro Wiwa)
IT’S NOVEMBER AGAIN (a poem for Ken Saro Wiwa)
It’s November again! Feel these winds blow, see these leaves falling, No, it’s not Harmattan blowing. It’s Ken coffin calling from our coughing body frames. It’s that month again, when we count our losses, Name them one by one! Our hopes they hung on a line, And they dried them like rags in the sun,… Continue reading IT’S NOVEMBER AGAIN (a poem for Ken Saro Wiwa)