Ode to EHI MWEN...






Ehin mwen,
Ehigiamusoe escort thou me
On our journey through the riddles
Of life and on our way back to report
To the creator, Òsa
Forsake me not, Ehi gue mwen
For All formed in the belle of a woman
Is a 'predestined' destiny.

Ehi mwen
Ehi gia to, let our spiritual communication
Be ever constant oh thou revered Ìkejì
To me, I pray thee
Thou be a divine guardian
And a god - father.

Ehi mwen
A i s' agbon hi
Although man may blindly challenge
His chi to a duel,
He cannot now change
His predestined circumstances
Or fate.
For predestination is done in heaven
Where man present to Òsa
He wishes and desires.

Ehi mwen
Ehi bo mwen
Lahor' do not be forgetful.
Sokpan, favour me even when my store houses
Flows unending with tempestuous rage,
Wealth in abundance like the ikpoba river
Ehi o r'uwa.

Ehi mwen
Ehi z'ogie
A man in conflict with his emena
Shall never be king,
Forgive me, my ignorances;
Dos and don'ts.
Tamuno, even in disagreement
Still lead me on my all knowing
Invisible half.





ghops..

From a Lith Book Of Tales

"The story of a ghetto boy'


Once
I was
A little boy,
The many
Little things,
Deeds
They Made me
Smile
And life itself;
Was without worries.

But quickly
I became
A man
And gang (society)
Put a gun
Into my hands.


They Told me
That i could
Live or die.
Though I didn't know
The reason why?
But my gun (orientation)
became my tool (toy).
'The story of a ghetto boy'


*closes chapter*


ghops

BlackBoy

- From A Lith Book Of Tales; For Kwakwekokou -



Black boy Kokou
Black boy kwakwekokou Ngiog'i
Do know
Your black is beautiful and
Like me, you was never told
'The uniqueness of being Negroid.

Although being black is howbeit beautiful
We are the sole symbolism of everything evil.
Oh they know we are all kin;
Real rude boys from Kingston
Aftermath of too many hours
Showing backs to the smiling sun
Cold shuddering drizzling, pouring wet rain
Working on colonial plantations
And religious households.

We were free men
Taken from the comfort of our huts
To the never ending Frank's ocean.
Many thrown overboard,gift for Poseidon
To steer clear his tempestuous waves.

Forgive us our sins
Oh thee benevolent maker, the son
And the holy spirit.
But
For what tribulations, crimes, faults
did our black race commit?


To be rejected;
Unjustly deprived.





ghops

UHURU




No one ever gets freedom on a platter of gold...

Without a fight, indoctrination may continue for

Another generation, convincing and bold..

Till a people fade with time, clanging to memories of before..








ghops

An Ode To The Hearth



Everything born is birth
Anything dies is dead

Nothing ever really changes
Because nothing is new

Life is given
This same life is taken.

Emptied dreams
Emptied hopes and aspirations
At the river Styx eternally floats.

Lukewarm; of what is hot
And of what is cold?

Man's infinitesimal problems
Take all his times, for human life is
Indeed vain and strife;
Living to impress others impressing others.

Oh mother hearth,
Be revered, for home is
Where lies true love and companionship
Even at the end of civilization
Let there be thy ever burning fire
In our hearts, reassuring
Serendipitous.


Ghops

AMASOWONMWAN

At arm's, I am but your brethren,
Ne pas comrade
Pour gold most have sold
Their Honors.
Others, for a spicy pot of pottage

The tree only bends to the wind
Because it doesn't know how to do otherwise
Ainsi be wise, precautions taken
Births no aftermaths

You are not your father's son
Lest, you wear the family's emblem
Upright;
Off white greyish, ripen with time
Solely relying on faith
Hoping for the best,
Yet ignoring all good
Seeing nothing right with better.
Amasowonmwan
Strangers shan't lay a curse on you,
Nor take your portion
A few know your real names?

Iten edo
Even the gods forbid that a father bury a son
But then also
The child is the father of the man
Alright?

The darker the skin colour
The deeper the roots,
For sour sweet tastes the truth
Like rumor, solid liquid smells it flavour
Symbolisms of our ancestral struggle.

Fear what you know
Not the unknown,
All these and more
Are reasons why people drown
At ovia river.




ghops

#CoronaVirus


The end of both western
And eastern civilization?
As the case maybe, since none
Truly pay heed or sacrifice to
Neither the gods nor titans.
Anyway, Armageddon is here!
The end, shifted 20 years
From the year 2000.
Has come finally
Killing a little less
Than its first cousins
AIDS, and Ebola
Yet,
The world has grown timid
Shaken with fear and uncertainty.
All playing victims, no heroes
And ignoring actual facts;
The varied adverse effects of bio weaponry,
CDC's role in the creation and spread
Of diseases,
World politicos et.al
Pharmaceuticals; will science solve this?
Lest, hope tarries at arm's reach
Dig shallow graves with
Altruistic precision
And fate, faith -
It might just pass,
But if it doesn't
Welcome to the end of the world
In a smirked face.


ghops

Elumè
Akue ekume
Eleme nnana
A virgin should cry during the first night
Alright?
But for the mother of the world's savior
Mary, the clans took an exception
Elume for who is the father of
Our saviour the second.
Because according to you,
We weren't approved to dance
Ijo mummy ati daddy
Swearing you will never do it unavowed
Pe to ba se now, you'll be barren
If we finally marry, a family rite or tradition!
Please tell us and your mother
The angels name, whom our good Lord sent this time
For I can't be a Joseph
Omo ita t' ja gan t' mo ni gboro
That's who I am
A new cloth unused should be new till used
Jo kilo fun mama re
For I am neither a racist nor tribalist
Awon epe nla nla she utters; the ibo curses
Invoking Amadioha while mentioning my name,
Dont seem like any young man's wish
Let her know
I never saw the stream nor took a dive.
Do explain to your mama akue
The second coming
Like a pastor's wife would.
Spring should pass to Fall
Whilst summer leads to winter
A woman's heart would still hold the deepest
and Darkest secrets, lies
Leading a generation to its abrupt end.



GHOPS

************

We have sought after life,

Right from the point when we, tiny semens

Inside daddy’s two pride bags,

Have to fight, so we’d survive.


We have learnt about life,

From the point of fear,

Where adults screams lingers,

And our inner voices tremble.



We became older and our voices too,

Like waters, we flow,

Casting off all odds,

We ignited a new beginning.


We like the iroko tree they say, can withstand

The tempestuous music of the wind.

But can’t resist to be taken aback by the

Many dance steps of the storm.







Godwin Henry Osaigbovo (Pa Shakespeare)

Jegede Dawal Joseph (joejegz)

THE AFRICANS OF OLD.


The Africans of old
At night, slept and of Africa
For Africa they dreamt
Of a day to come
When Africans will be free
Uhuru Uhuru Uhuru
From every form of enslavement
And oppressions.

The Africans of old
In peace and harmony coexisted
mpende jirani yako kama unavyojipenda
Oh they knew how to live
For self and their community
Ubuntu Ubuntu Ubuntu
Hold a man up in his most darkest hour'
For I am because we are.

The Africans of ages past
Held true friends with both hands
For to wash one hand properly
The other is implore.
Wọn mọ 'That a man without a good friend
Was he without a good fortune'
Awethu Awethu Awethu
Because the power to be - ing
Resides with the people.





ghops

....




I go to New York City
The suburbs
I see children my age;
In shiny black shoes
Well ironed school clothes
Protruded stomachs
Wearing both ties and smiles
Carrying lunch boxes
As huge as an elephant's tusk
From Thailand.

Vroom zoooom
Pim pim
Vroom zoom
Traffic lights blaring;
Reds, oranges, Greens.
Yellow taxes in long queues

'Good Morning America'
just like the movies,
Eddie Murphy.

In the city
I see parents;
Men and women wearing
Happiness and fulfillment
On their long faces;
For parenting is dying to self
To live for others.

Back home
I had had to be a man
Even before i could talk
Cause in my part of the world
Nothing ever seem to work

My father, a war veteran who still
Cry for spilling innocent blood
In a war between two mad men.
Announced,
The news of the death of his comrade,
Odonniski, the optimistic one
Who died at the pension office
Waiting to collect, in a resigned tone
He too is tired.
Weary from having done too much
With too little outcomes.

*after a moment of silence*
He languidly whispers from the receivers end
Of the telephone'

The festivals will not hold this year, Son
Our people barely have enough
To eat now a days
Times are hard.

In my part of the world
Nothing ever seem to change.
Times had always been hard since the beginning;
I mean since like Adam and Eve.
The fathers and mothers live in penury
Their children will inherit their fates
Soon or later
Recycled.
But maybe live more miserably
And in debt
They are educated and too civilized now.






Godwin Henry Osaigbovo Pa Shakespeare..

April 12, 2013


An ode to LIFE (AGBON)



The yesterdays,
The todays and even the uncertain morrows
In accordance to the law of nature
Are in a state of a perpetual flux.

The many stages
We have Experienced
Thus far,
Buttress and assert the karmic theory
Which states that
'whatever goes up will be reversed so
It can be reached'.

Our decisions and indecisions
Are guides, navigating our paths towards
Its designated fate,
For a man is wholly free when he is dead.

Oh!
How true and dedicated many remain
To life's hustle
Amidst it's bellow mysteries
And power tussles.
Which arise as a need mistaken
For peer pressure,
For to sew a clothe, a tailor
Must first take a measure.

Agbon
You are cheap but yet priceless,
Harsh like the fate of Ikoka men after the curse.
Sour Sweet like the taste of the Otien fruit
And indifferent to man's plight.

Agbon
A statue should be made in your name
Because your fairness knows no bound.
For if you were biased,
Only the few rich will survive
Whilst the poor, animals
And the trees will go into extinction.

'A wise man lives once
And leaves while dying.
While a fool dies several times
And regrets even while living.'






Godwin Henry Osaigbovo Pa Shakespeare


Copyright © Speare Earth Poetry | Year Posted 2019

At the port
On our way to the Seas
At land
When we are lead to the slaughters
-In this seismic illusion we call life,
To Survive gainst all odd is just strife -



Excerpt from (an Ode To Vain)

ghops

Nigeria! Nigeria! Nigeria!!!

"A great nation indeed'"
Our noble compatriots of old, chanted.
An indomitable nation with unlimited resources;
one with an inexhaustible description.
Isn't it wonderful?

A country that practised true democracy;
One that understood the true meaning of education.
A nation where our fathers and mothers were rewarded with brand new (peugeot)cars,
private accommodations with federal incentives
to set them up for life;
just for earning the title, Graduate.

Fast-forward today...

Nigeria!!!
Why has thou forsaken thine own glory?
A glory so inestimable and auspicial enough to lighten the minds of the 'Oyibo man';
one which earned it the trophy of jealousy and envy from the white-skinned colonialists.

Nigeria!
How has the mighty fallen!
How thy enlightened and graduates,
Turned desperate and in despair,
By the despots who endlessly promise
Them green pasture; of course,
With good intentions always attached.

See! see! see!
See the blood of your children flowing endlessly in a foreign land;
the blood of your children
wash the shores of a strange land!

Eehhhh! Eehhhhh! Eehhhhh!
See the tyrants in power
busy deliberating again,
scheming policies and implementing
only the laws that rid your children of
their only affordable one square meal
of garri mixed with salt and maybe coconut.
Their tears and pleas are not enough to pacify their greed...


Ooh! The mighty has indeed fallen!
The tyrants bear rule in the land!
Thy children have become slaves;
both at home and in overseas.
Darkness has finally befallen the land!
The gods have gone to sleep;
They have fled out of fear of the
tyrants' uncontrollable and resolute greed.
And here we are,
With no revolution to birth a better tomorrow in view,
Awaiting with a hope,
that may never come.


pegi - peter ekhator godwin iyendo
ghops






SpeareEarthPoetry2019
#SayNoToXenophobia

PEPT (Nigeria Is )



Tiri stands steal
For three to stand still, alas
Mad men no longer bath inside dirty dustbins
At the market square anymore
See them for government houses; acting shady
Whilst Papa ejiro et.al don almost slim finish.

Tiri stands still
So three can stand steal
The hope of the common man,
Dashed against a very hard rock, fate darn.
Who be think say 1 man for fit rule 1 country
Without any form of formal education.



The country,
Nigeria
Is a case of,
Tiri days spent halfway, through a completed route.






GHOPS


#NigeriaIs

meobizy:
For me nothing and I like it that way. No matter how prominent you were in life generations later have a way of wiping away your legacy. Hitler is still remembered because of many documentaries. If those stop airing he’ll get forgotten within ten years.

But people remember Hitler for his bad deeds?

When You Die, What Will You Be Remembered For

"In These Days, We Prayed"

19/04/2012






*************************



On this journey, we call life,
We are all survivers.
Striving daily,
Hoping for another life.

But time,
And the time cometh for us also to die.
When you pass away
What will you be remembered for?

Of stakes, in deeds
Of love or hate
Of either good or evil
When you do pass away,
What will you be remembered for?

Dirges at funeral sites
One moment of silence observed,
Then, altogether We forget the dead,
To truly die.

As memories
Are blisters on a sore throat.
And Dreams,
Nightmares when a sisters body bloat.

We will all die
Later or Sooner,
We never really know when or how.
Yes! We are but men.
So when you do pass away
What will you be remembered for ?





ghops
brait


Copyright © Speare Earth Poetry | Year Posted 2019

( an ode to the Greys)







We see through their eyes,
We Feel their pain
And hold their emotions in highest regards,
But in love, theirs is never to reciprocate.
We are the light in the dark
Their black when they are white
We are the Greys people
The durst solely chosen
To believe where believing is void;
For if Hatred is served as Received,
Love May never reign.





ghops

Our Own Heroes

**********







"We,
Birthed by parents;
Without prior planning
For a proper alignment
of their kids destiny,
yet,
Here we are,
Our own very selves,
Our own heroes!"







We Are,
Our Own Heroes
We've come this far;
gods in human form.
We've visited the very eye of the storm of life;
Waded through the jungle of life's harsh reality...
Bathed in its gore and ruthlessness.
We've seen it all;
Yet still standing,
lording over our eventful conquest in our own little way...savouring the pleasure of a victory earned through combat...a combat of will.
Though, without a grand ceremony to honor our presence among mortals;
Yet, we will lay claim to our divine trumpets,
We will horn our praise till the rest of the celestials join in our unsavoury dance...
The dance of the Immortals.
With it, we will build an atmosphere of gaiety and galore... an atmosphere of a distinct piety.
Then, we shall boldly say, facing the mortal world:
We Are Our Own Heroes!





Peter Ekhator Godwin Iyendoe (pegi)
ghops


Copyright © Speare Earth Poetry | Year Posted 2019

Thank you bro

RAIN
POETRY


*Lightening and thundering in the heavens
Aves scatter about in the darkening skies,
In search of refuge.
It will rain and the bird’s foot shall not touch water
The rivers soon to go into unrest*


At times
We tarry awhile
For your arrival
Other times
You come uninvited;
Breaking the soil in violence
Drizzling continuously
Varying neither
In volume nor speed

On such days,
When you rain screaming cats
And drowning fishes, The Sun
In no circumstance say good morning
Or else bon nuit
Telling time becomes a watch’s sole duty.
The clouds wears a blackish grey cloth
Like an ibo woman mourning
The death of her husband
Who died young and rich.

In the square miles
Go slow …
Horns honk
Head and rare lights blare
Red and orange - yellow at different intervals
Port holes well into streams
Gutters sing melancholic songs in a rush
Whilst the drainage systems become unsufficient
Leaving part of the city waterlogged
Pubs, bars, mini - bars are littered with both
Pile of burnt cigarette ends, emptied bottles
And people mos sickly from the cold
Wearing thick sweaters
Hand gloves, shoes … as well as
Exploiting all avenues to fornicate

Whilst in the rural settlements (the landly)
A farmer’s one true nightmare
Comes to life; a very sour and sad reality
The lepers, aged and
Women are grateful for water, rain water
The fisherman stays ashore, content
A hunter’s game, halt
Rain
‘Is a blessing and a curse…?
But when its torrent, implies
The gods displeasure with man’
A conjurer’s avenue to getting fatten.



Godwin Henry Osaigbovo Pa Shakespeare


Copyright © Speare Earth Poetry | Year Posted 2019

10 SHILLINGS


( a before independent Nigeria, excerpt )

.



At night
He came with his family;
The whole band,
All looking somewhat tired and hungry.
Oga!
He shouted, and then a quick grin.
Month end don pass ooo,
And you promised
To pay on demand the Sum of ten shillings’
You remember?




Godwin Henry Osaigbovo Pa Shakespeare


#SpeareEarthPoetry




Photographs by @Jphotomoralism1

E LUUU

An elegy to Alex-Tina Rebecca Avode
Egianruwa Aizenosa - for tuly, we don't dictate nor chose for the gods -





Laugh
Crry
Love
Hate
Just like
Real human beings
Who at night
Lay waste THEIR sorrows
And worries.

Laugh
Cry
Love
‘for fathers now bury
The corpses of their daughters’
And sons
Whilst mothers burn
Leaves of the iyonno lily
To ward off the ghosts of their
Once beloved.

Laugh
Crry
Love
Hate
For little we see in life
Lesser we know about life
And not a thing
But dreams,
Hearsays
Of the afterlife.


ghops

Africana, a poem that details the pre - colonial, colonial and post -colonial Africa, her rich history, struggles and unique cultural heritage in a picturesque execution.


Africa will Rise Up Tall,Bold, and rule the Earth again
But first Africans must be Africans and more, not more and black.
Mathew R, 2014.
initiator, AFRICANA - the movement ©




AFRICANA (A Poem )


"Our forebears broke kola nuts
And offered prayers
To the benevolent maker,

Whose name varied from one tribe to another.
They lived in peace and harmony."
This was way before
The meek white missionaries
Made landing on our shores.


Africana
They condemned our customs and traditions.
They said our ways were too primitive.
So they burnt down our shrines
And in its stead,
They gave us their three C's.
(Christianity, civilization and commerce)


Africana
These white saviours, in their glowing white robes Baptised our forebears
In the name of the Father, his Son and his Holy Spirit.
Whilst our fore-elders learnt how to pray,
They formed a government,
And on our natural Resources they preyed.

Africana
Albeit their government lynched our forebears.
In the church,
Both the oppressed and their oppressors
Screamed amen.
From two conspicuously separated rows;
The salvation bringers occupied the front seats
The back seats, sanctified for the blacks.
And they said their God was impartial.


Africana
They captured, tortured and shipped
Our forebears to the americas;
To work their cane plantations,
Cotton fields, paddy fields, sugar plants.
The unfortunate ones, thrown overboard
To swim Frank's ocean.

Africana
And many centuries after their first landing.
We, the descendants of former slaves,
Rose from our slumber
And fought for Africa's uhuru.
This freedom many willingly laid down their lives...
And when at last,
We were declared independence,
Our struggle for survival began.









GHOPS

Ramadan Kareem














Alhamdulillah,
The crescent moon is sighted
The dawn of another Ramadan.

In these Four Weeks of mercy,
30 days of worship,
720 hours of Spirituality,
43,200 Minutes of Forgiveness,
2592000 Seconds of Happiness,
May Allah accepts our good deeds,
Forgive our transgressions and sins,
And ease the suffering of all peoples.

May the great Allah shower our paths
With light and knowledge!

May Allah always guard us all
Throughout our journey in life

May the great Allah fill our lives
With health, wealth and joy

May Allah infuse in us courage.
Courage that will help us all
To triumph over the adversities of life.

May this Ramadan enlighten us;
Clear our understandings and judgment
Between right and wrong, truth and false.

And may be teachings of The Prophet
Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam
Be our guide through out this holy month.
La ilaha illa l-Lah, Muhammadun Rasulu l-Lah



As-Salam-u-Alaikum











GHOPS






Copyright © Speare Earth Poetry | Year Posted 2019

*from a Lith Book Of Tales*

AGHAMA
(the story of QUEEN IDEN)



When the rains refused to go away
And the sun in desperation looked the other way.
The moon seemed to be out of reach
And for this,the stars embarked on an outreach.

The elders of the tribe
Met,and decided to appease the celestial beings
With a human sacrifice, as a bribe
Whose fate is left to earthworms and ravens.

But the procurement of the sacrificial item
Became a predicament.
For the famine brought along with it different ailment.
But this woman willingly gave herself up as a totem.

Aghama!
How unfortunate,life turned out to be for you.
The Belle, who will never be called mama
For on this never returning journey the tribe chose for you.





Godwin Henry Osaigbovo Pa Shakespeare

Play like play
A fourth year again
Free rice and naira bills
This year only to a higher bid

Change the change
It's that time again
When we change history for gains
For thoughts;
A black man's problem is his greed

Chop for belle, it is me alone
One day e go better
Today lemme ride along
Only leaders bring changes

Vote for me; I'll do you right
I am a youth too, i share your plight
On election day, dem go arm dem thugs
And police; their only job is to bring people fright

This year again, I go stay house
No favour, no harm
I kukuma no vote them last term
At least a valid ID for another 4 years

Power to the people!
But if the people revolt and refuse to vote
How best do the people transfer power
To the few people in political positions?

A government of the people
By the people, for the people
Democracy;
In Nigeria, we demonstrate craze.




Godwin Henry O. Pa Shakespeare X Usi Jupiter Chuka