Procession I – Hanging day
Wole Soyinka
Hanging day.
A hollow earth
Echoes footsteps of the grave procession.
Walls in sunspots
Lean to shadow of the shortening morn.
Behind an eyepatch lushly blue.
The wall of prayer has
Hanging day.
A hollow earth
Echoes footsteps of the grave procession.
Walls in sunspots
Lean to shadow of the shortening morn.
Behind an eyepatch lushly blue.
The wall of prayer has
Gentle breeze is the father of rain,
Soft wind is the father of cloudburst,
Rain will not drench me today;
Rain will pack its belongings and go away.
The antelope
O Lord my God
I have been too silly on you
Walked away when I need you most
Deceiving myself that I don’t need you
When did I become childish
And
Firefly gambit and left prank of noble-less in my veins
Sometimes ago it was Abacha who built tents
Of dysphonia and anarchy around the country
A few days ago it
What colour is this?
Colour white
As white as snow
What colour is this?
Colour black
As black as charcoal
What colour is this?
Colour blue
As blue as the ocean
He who meet beauty and does not look at it will
soon be poor:
Red feathers are the pride of the parrot,
Young leaves are the pride of the palm-tree,<br
The black one is squatting-the red one is licking
his bottom.
(Cooking-pot and fire)
Two tiny birds jump over two hundred trees.
(Eyes)
The mourner has stopped weeping.
The pitying friend is
Living in slums like leeches,
Wandering about like a bird without shelter.
Area boys, sons of the soil, snail has no blood;
The senior brothers of mendicants,
That is what
CHILD – River bird, river bird,
Sitting all day long
On hook over grass,
River bird, river bird,
Sing to me a song
Of all the pass
And say,
Will
Your hand is heavy, Night, upon my brow.
I bear no heart mercuric like the clouds,
to dare.
Exacerbation from your subtle plough.
Woman as a clam, on the sea’s
Odududu ndufu!
Wardrum, without whose leadership there is fear on the way!
Wardrum, without whose leadership there is fear on the way!
Great spirit, Uduma Olugutu
Great spirit, Okali husband
A poor man doesn’t know
how to eat with a rich man.
When he eats fish
he begins with the head.
If you invite a poor man
he comes without manners:<br