For Magu: A Sage Said
*”Magu m’agun Magun”
Nights are for the thieves, pillaging
as they could steal for two lives.
sleep in two houses & cruise two
cars. But, on a day the dawn arrives
early to expose the face behind the
mask of darkness.
*Magun is when the “pride” gets stuck
in the consequences of its doing.
“Kill my enemies harshly!” Remember
the table shakes & turns as nights &
days alternate. The *koboko we employ
to tear the skins of unproven suspects
waits enduringly in the attic for us,
un-sued “innocent”.
In a nation where truth has many
shades of partisan’s color, our truths
are muddled like a puddle of irreconcilable
dirt & our histories become:
of ours,
of theirs &
of the colored fencists.
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For Adigun Abass:
Plenty grammar no action
Carnage of confusion we need traction.
Our hungers incite poetry and passion
Brewing concerns, suffering neglects
Politicians’ sweet grammar hasn’t built
The city. Ibadan now a crawl space with
Less civility. *Adigun has failed to speak
Your nice tongue but these verses only
Judge his actions not his broken songs.
————————————————————————–
For Tolulope Arotile
Your day…
was extinguished so young like a bright matchstick that blazed so fast.
Your dawn…
was brighter like its time would so last.
But 23 strides of herculean honors for your
nation came to a sudden halt.
A mighty breath passed. All chemistry of
loves & physics of jet-flying couldn’t mend
t#he last synapse of breathe from rending.
The breath that had soared above enemies’ brutish threat. Walked mountains of evil
joyously unscarred & raining shell of troubles
on terrorists. The breath was lost to an
excitement that was worth not more than
an handshake
Your hearse should have the best of epitaph,
with a delicate wreath of roses bearing our
remorse. The day darkened in an eclipse that
shrouded the truth. A life lived to secure us
would just be snuffed out like that?
May the heavens receive you with the
warmest obeisance for you were a mahogany
too impact-ful to fall but we lost you to…
… a whiff of accident.
————————————————————————–
Glossary:
*Magu, Do not mount “magun”
*MAGUN is a charm that originates from the Yoruba land of Nigeria. In Yoruba, it means “thunderbolt”; the literal English meaning is “Do Not Climb.” It has been used for years to catch promiscuous people in extra-marital affairs and is still in use today.
*Koboko is a whip made with cow or goat hide, used as a tool for corporal punishment. however, it is generally called a horse whip.
*Hon. Adigun Abass, Ibadan North- East/South- East Federal Constituency
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Tunde Waliyulah Adesokan [Toonday], writes from Oyo state, Nigeria.
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