Traffic Police

The taxi stopped three cars away from the junction
I looked to my left and, the driver was smiling
I looked to my right, and the driver was also smiling
As far as I could see everyone was smiling
I could understand because I was also smiling
We were all staring at a lone figure
His black beret was competing seriously with his face
His orange shirt complimented the sun perfectly
His black trousers and boot were a direct contrast
To his sparking white gloves
He stood in the middle of the road
The smile on his face was certainly something to behold
He moved his hands like a conductor in an orchestra
He moved his leg like he was dancing the moonwalk
I could tell he was having the time of his life
At that moment I wished with all my heart
That we could swap places
Not because of his dance moves
Or his conducting skills
But an opportunity of a vacation at my vocation
But then again we can’t all be lucky.

when he died...

It was a day like every other
Yet it wasn’t like any other day
Death came knocking on the door
Not subtly but with a big bang

She was at that place
between sleep and consciousness
The first thing she heard was
My brother is dead!
Her eyes flew open
yet she thought it was a dream

The woman cried inconsolably
“Who will take care of my daughter”
“Who will take care of my daughter”
It was a pitiful sight
But alas it didn’t require pity
For the mask of piety and selflessness
unceremonious fell off
And the naked face of her was revealed
For the brother  was not without seed
And she was not a wife but a sister

She looked at her and for the first time
Not with tainted glasses
For although she was greatly grieved
She couldn’t help but wonder at such comedy
How can she cry, when she is so alive?
And his children, orphans all of a sudden

It would have been a celebration
If the faces where a little less sorrowful
And the music a little less solemn
if he wasn’t lying in the middle in his Sunday best

She pranced around while everyone looked on
Her sorrow was palpable
not for who she lost but what she lost
And as she also looked at her
She knew not to ever trust the human face
 it is a mask above all others

the virtue of selfishness

Psychology is very good
But that isn’t my major
Per-chance I am psychic
Why would I want to read your mind?

Intuition is a gift
One I happen not to have
If you have something in mind
Pity, but you have to say it

Humility is such a virtue
But who ever said I was virtuous?
The last time I was docile
I must have been a toddler

The world is full of  perfect people
Of which, I’m not one
I might be a lot of things
But I am no hypocrite

Pretence is a skill
One I have no desire to acquire
Being a wolf in sheep clothing
Just isn’t my style

Okolo-Ama

So little so beautiful
Perched in the middle of the deep blue sea
Surrounded by pelicans and shells
Sited at the very end of  Rivers

A beautiful heritage
Young women vibrating to the rhythm of the drums
With their ‘biebite’ and ‘egerebite’   firmly around their waist
Proudly celebrating the rite of passage to womanhood

A friendly paradise
Luring her friends with the gyrations of  ‘nwaotam’
And the quest for oil money
And fulfilling all her promises

Dignified, reserved and unassuming
While her peers were running around naked
She was playing host to the British
And drinking tea from teacups

‘Okolo-ama‘, my Bonny
Ushering in your children with ‘essem akpakpa’
Into the welcome embrace of their mothers’ arm
You are truly a kingdom and rare




*OKOLOAMA-is the indigenous name for Bonny Kingdom in Rivers State, Nigeria
*BIEBITE AND EGEREBITE-special sets of wrapper tied by young women when performing the rites of womanhood
*NWAOTAM- a masquerade of the Bonny people usually celebrated on the 25th of December
*ESSEM AKPAKPA-periwinkle shells

Virtual Romance

The world is evolving no doubt
Everything is at the click of a button
Everything you’ve ever wanted
Seems just a screen away
Vocabularies are changing as well
Tweeting, facebook, pinging
And what have you;

Love at first sight?
That is so ancient
It’s the 21’s century
Try, love at first ping
Or perhaps, love at first chat
Maybe again love at first tweet

Silly!, You think?
It is a virtual world we live in
Virtual goods, virtual brands, virtual friends
And my ‘favourite’ virtual romance
Absolutely fabulous

A word of advice though
Don’t get your feelings involved
Want to know why?
There is no virtual pain
It is the real deal
How do I know?
Just take my word for it

The Painting

such an intense gaze
what lovely Brown eyes
soft, smooth and evenly bronze
so is her skin
not a hair out of place
the smile playing around
the corners of her lips
said she knew things
no one else knew
oh! and that dress
haute couture
she is so exquisite
no wrinkles, no freckles
and she is only thirty
oh dear me!
She's been thirty the last decade

how lucky you are
to be eternally youthful and graceful
full of life and the bliss of ignorance
to be frozen and captured forever

Question Marks

What is happiness?
What does it mean?
How does it feel?
Happy, quite a simple word I suppose?
Have you ever been exceptionally happy?
Can you come up with a memory?
Ok, were you ever just happy?
Still can’t pick out an event?
Passably happy then?
Perhaps, the first time you fell in love?
Were you happy because they made you happy?
Or you were happy with the idea of being in love
not even then I suppose?
What am I saying?
You must have been happy a lot of times
But how do you know it was happiness?
If i don’t even know what happiness means?