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Okoye Gabriel Chukwunonye

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My freinds, my foes
2nd letter to my Kenyan brothers
The dragon and fire
Grieving pensioneers
A penitent sinner to his salvation

MY FRIENDS, MY FOES

If all are true friends
Why do fishes eat fishes?
If there are no worst foes
Why do cats hunts for rats?
Who is the most deadly foe?

The heart I planted my rose
Emanates smoke like a chimney
And loves with venom in her heart
A stream of fury flows in her eyes
Calm in the cup; a lethal juice

I wished I could conquer
I wished I could unleash my sword
But the love in my eyes
Held my sword in the scabbard
And I felt the guard in my grip
Like an ice on my bruises
Even in the brutalities of war
I could not shed blood

O heaven! Thou greatest!
Provide thy sun a new world
Many heads, one hat
Many heart, one love
Where a friendship is love
And my foes to harm me not

2ND LETTER TO MY KENYAN BROTHERS

My dear Kenyan brothers
How is your peace today?
You have let your cocks to crow
With the sun set and moon light
You are drying out your stream in my eyes
How would you quench your thirst tomorrow?
Brothers! You are feeding my heart with sorrow
And gnashing of teeth against my will
Each time you raised your matchet
You cause my blood to spill out
Bear in mind that you are hurting me
Don't tell me you don't have a heart
Don't tell me you don't feel the pains too
You see my broken heart, don't you?
And the mad gushing of my sacred fluid
Don't you perceived the odour of my blood?
When it splashed on your angry face
I struggled with you on the ground
Each drop of the sweat from your armpit
Smells like my blood
And that is the true you in me
The truth that has now left our memories
Haven't this crazy crisis eaten a lot?
Our goodwill, love and unity
Is now resting in its rotten stomach
Brother! I know you are not a ravenous cat
But I saw a rat in your eyes
While you set your eyes on me
Stop raising your furs on my timidity
I'm just another you in me
Please keep your claws far from me
Come! My brother come
Near me with your great love
Draw me up from this dusty ground
And let us sing to our fallen unity
The loudest solidarity song
That all the mountains around us must hear
GREAT KENYA!!! GREAT PEOPLE!!! GREAT AFRICA!!!
Blocks of your reproach must fall
And walls of your good brotherhood
Shall stand like the tail of a wren

THE DRAGON AND FIRE

From the heart of the highest heaven
The downfall of the damned dragon
Blasted the earth a banging blow
Moving in the air to and fro
Wailing a stream of burning fire
On my hairs the fire is getting higher
I leaped out of my hot shoes
My heart throbs with my running toes
And like a cat after a mouse
I ran into the domain of a prayer house
Where a bible sat a silent bell
Like an object on a weighing scale
Sticks of candle bowing to a crucifix
Standing on a bug stormed sacred box
Covered with an ash stained apron
Like a grey cloud angry to cry rain
On this altar I present the red coal
Burning from my soul to my sole
Here too a white fowl must howl pain
Akin to the babalawo’s shrine
Where on fire more fire he spat
And abracadabra to invoke the spirit
Of these his squatting gods
That watches disaster with their blind eyes
And to them the unreachable must be found
But here my knees must kiss the ground
I must eat hunger to starve my stomach
Plenty of wicks must smell my smoke
Many things are reversed on this altar
And I know the Psalms the alter
But whether more fire or less fire
All I need is just fire to suppress fire
Only the fire to fire the firing dragon’s fire
And fire to nullify the calamities of fire

GRIEVING PENSIONEERS

They came and they crawled
They walked and worked on ten toes
And now they came on their three legs
Holding their aching waist with one hand
Some are still on ten toes but weak and limping
They scratched their heads with wrinkled fingers
They stopped and counted their remaining teeth
Then bit their fingers with their damaged train
Shook their heads and nodded their shoulders
Knocked their walking sticks on the ground
Pointing them to the sky murmuring:
Who cares about our deflated breast
Or to water this arid land on our heads?
This mango tree! this tall mango tree!
This mango tree ate the strength of our youth
This mango tree we can no longer climb again
But only the clinging climbers can
Hanging on branches harvesting the fruits
Even when the wind blows the hold it
Up on the tree they eat it all
Endlessly we are waiting here to see it fall
Just some little of this season’s harvest
Before we hurry home to meet our fathers
They are in the hut mending the bed for us
Our casket shall eat lanky carcasses
Only a beautiful dirge will honor our funeral
Our old soldier boots and big grammars
Are the bountiful inheritances of our heirs
Our children and children’s children
To our grieve they will prick their ears
But for these clinging climbers
Onto their days we shall lay no curse
Though in the palm of their hands
They must keep the mark of our uttering nails

A penitent sinner to his salvation

In naivety I cleaved unto sin a wife
I was smitten the blade of its knife
It consoled me with pains of pouring iodine
Hath I not been weak and vulnerable to sin?
That which I spat when I beheld the daylight
Giveth soccour to my lustful sense at twilight
Many act I doth combat yet them I doeth
Yea! Yea them I doeth albeit I willeth not
I condone that which thou despise
A pig unclean I’m before thine eyes
In sin I fell on the filthy dust times aplenty
But thou hadst carried my cross of iniquity
On this cross, thee saviour payedst my debt
That I might be hid from the penalty of death
O lord! Thine heart abound with grace
I plead for mercy and mercy I embrace
I was born a pig, yea a pig not a saint
But in thy infinite love a lamb thee sent
And hither unto my sin the lamb was slew
I pray thee, with thy blood cleanse me anew
In thy mercy O lord! Shun my old way
In thy strength let my new life make sway
Yea, ere I was standing a pig behold now a lamb
Blameless in his sight and bestowed a sacred cherub