Ode to an Elephant ( A tribute to Prof Wole Soyinka)

They said the beautiful are not yet born
But the fearless are not yet gone
The Elephant of Egba still swaggers in the jungle
Even the lions dare not rumble
The great hawk that frightens the mother hen
The lone voice that straighten our nation when
the path derails
The black jaguar who swallowed the white snail
The iroko who stands when baobab fell


He carries the cloud on his head
And unites nations with his words
With His pen he conquers where sword fails
The one whose creativity oppress the oppressors
Looks fragile like china
But his courage can move idanre hills
The one who serve as a museum of our culture
The brave elephant in the forest of demons
The voice that refused to be silenced even when lips won't move
The fish who survived even when the climate was fearfully hot
The horseman who rode with death and kings
The lion who becomes the jewel of our heritage
and made us giants like the elephant of the forest
The one who deserves all the ink of an African poet
A ladder of attainment for the hopeless aiming for the sky


Even when the sculptures carve no more images
the one in his shelf will still reckon forever
A great icon to be canonise
A man who made history then turns legend
The great Elephant who knows the trick of the jungle
The oracle who sits at the helm of knowledge
Your are truly a gem to our world.