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Two Poems

2014; University of Oklahoma; Volume: 88; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/wlt.2014.0168

1945-8134

Niyi Osundare,

Aquatic Ecosystems and Biodiversity

header May–August 2014 • 73 photo : johnny peacock Visit the WLT website to hear the author read these poems with musical accompaniment. Wishes Wish I could still laugh with the lotus On the bank of the Nile Take off my clothes And dive into the Zambezi Join spirit dancers In the middle of the Ganges Romp with the Rio To the thunder of the samba Fan the Yangtze’s face With the fan of the moon Tease the Thames With a shoeless foot Embrace the Volga With open arms Ask the Mississippi For a bowl of water . . . Alas, between cup and lip An acre of wishes Hole in the Sky (Choreo-poem. Preferably with musical accompaniment , the tempo varying according to the mood and meaning of each section) Eco-Snaps i Koko gba kokodi Koko didi kokodi* “Tell my story,” Said the Earth to me, “Oh, tell my story the way it is. Don’t sugarcoat its bile Don’t varnish its rust Don’t cover its scars with pretty words Tell my pain the way it is The way it is The way the way the way it is Tell my pain, the way it is.” Koko gba kokodi Koko didi kokodi ii The day the river caught fire And the lake burnt like Devil’s oil Two Poems Niyi Osundare special section International Eco-lit 74 worldliteraturetoday.org photos ( left to right ): rainforest action network , meroslav petrasko , www . flickr . com / people / iceninejon The mountain coughed like a broken giant The sky’s eyes were red with grief . . . Plants whose lethal spills provoked the plague Lay fortressed behind the hills Ayekooto† sighted their owners On their way to the city bank Koko gba kokodi iii Ever heard fruits arguing between the leaves Over which got the deepest dose Of the pesticidal plague? The poison killed the pest And later buried the people Koko gba kokodi iv The thunder of the sea Rattles the silence of the sky Wailing whales wonder about their woes The deeper the dolphin dives The shallower its desired relief Koko gba kokodi v The desert marches towards the sea The desert marches towards the sea Fire in its eyes Mayhem in every movement The desert marches towards the sea With camel-loads of broken skulls, Roasting iroko‡ trees for lunch The mahogany for early dinner. Dandelions roar beneath its feet. The elephant grass has lost its tusks To the famished poacher from sandy regions The desert marches towards the sea Alas, the boundless rainforest of my youth Has shrunk to a frightened eyebrow On the forehead of the coast Koko gba kokodi vi The midday sun Cannot see its face in the lake The turquoise sea is yellow From the poison of upland plants May–August 2014 • 75 The day they killed a tree In the ancient forest The chainsaw left a dirge On the lips of the leaves There is a bird in my heart Craving for a perch on the absent tree. Koko gba kokodi vii Seasons of omen: One-legged frogs Babies with missing arms The grass’s green laughter Has yellowed into sickening groan Vengeful droughts digest the fields Koko gba kokodi viii A hole A hole A blazing hole In the garment of the sky Oven-hot summers Winters blind with ice The Arctic melts like butter As rising oceans consume the land Fog-fraught cities grope Beneath their fuming factories The rain falls, acid, On frightened forests The Earth we used to know Is once upon a time A hole A hole A blazing, blinding hole In the garment of the sky Koko gba kokodi ix Trumpet sounds in the horizon Green intimations unfurl the wind Healing needle to the hole in the sky Earth’s Redemption Army Is gathering strength beyond the clouds. Trumpet sounds behind the mountains Green intimations unfurl the wind. Koko gba kokodi Koko didi kokodi * Sound of the deep-timbred drum associated with Earthdance. † Literally: The-world-abhors-the-truth. Yoruba name for parrot, “radio of the forest.” ‡ Highly priced tree in the Nigerian rainforest; famous for its majestic height and durability. Nigerian poet, playwright, essayist, and scholar Niyi Osundare has authored eighteen books...