Step by step it flows
Unleashing trapped desires
Edifying body and soul
Unifying humankind in entire.

Reaching within depths untold
Possessing, with grooves so bold
With rhythmic waves and strides
Varying from tribe to tribe.

Dancing is a rite
Not a mere reaction to music
Dancing is a language
Spoken in the voice of the body

As music transpires with bodies
Bodies of beautiful maidens
Bodies- voluptuous, with sweat
Leaving our warriors gasping!

Dancing to the beats
Dancing to the rhythm
Dancing in the heat
Like horses never ridden

Dancing is a bond unbroken
An expression of feelings unspoken
Well spoken by the untrained
Well grasped by the unlearned

Birthing in the cries of Ogene
Riding on the waves of Udu
Floating on the wings of Ekwe
Gliding in the ripples of Oja

It is the essence of our tradition
Passed from generations of old
We express it proudly
As we answer the call of Igba.

© Raphael Uzor

I sit and stare...
As time crawls by
Anxiously awaiting nightfall.

Nowhere to go,
Nothing to do
But yawn and stretch-
All day long.

Nothing interests me today

Sleep becomes tiring
Food becomes tasteless
Nothing catches my fancy

Not the TV
Not the radio.
I take a walk outside
Not a chance!
The fierce sun drives me back.

I call my friends
But all are busy
It's a conspiracy!

I sigh,
Desperate for the day to end
Maybe a book will speed it up
I browse through my shelf
Picking one at random
I sleep off,
Before I make it through page one

Hopefully, I'll sleep away time

I awake to the barking dogs
Convinced I've slept for hours
I feel worse than before
Cos I only slept 5 minutes.
**** dogs!

I listen to a song-
Cindy Lauper's Time After Time
I feel like crying
Where is everybody?
I give up!

Nothing works for me today

It's a sad, long and lonely day
The street is quiet-
Except for the barking

I feel tired
Tired from sleeping
Tired from everything
Nothing to do but think.

Finally, I pick up my pen
I grab a paper
I write a line
And for the first time today-

I smile!

© Raphael Uzor

Burning my will
In His fire of obedience
Drowning my woe
In cold drops of His blood!

Hanging gleefully
On acquiescent cross
Pleasures, pride and passions
Lost in eternal holocaust...*


© Raphael Uzor

Take one breath at a time
Adorn each piece with a chime
Let hearts beat in sync
As feathers in air must sink!

Take one step at a time
Bless a beggar with a dime
For so do hearts entwine
Like broken glasses of wine!

Take one day at a time
Grace each line with a rhyme
For so do poems ferment
When pens and papers cement!*


© Raphael Uzor

I sit at our dining table, alone!
Scribbling something with a pencil
Pencil falls, I lean over to pick...
A strange awareness overwhelms me
And for a moment or so, I'm enchanted!
In a world so strange, yet so familiar.

Years later...

I walk out the front door, alone!
I roam aimlessly in the front-yard
Strolling past dad's pickup truck...
The same bizarreness subdues me
And for a second or two, I'm enthralled!
In a memory so vivid, yet so elusive.

It's a feeling beyond words
Not like mere remembrance of pasts
For I'm swamped in routines everyday
But nothing thrills like the eccentric trance
Of being caught in time and space
In the crisscrossing of past and present!

I don't know how, I don't know why
I don't know when or where
I don't know if in a dream or my past
I don't know how possible it is
But I know this for a fact...
I've been here before!*


© Raphael Uzor

Tick!
         Life ticks away...
Tock!
         Like smoke from fire...
Tick!*


10w

Slipping into my apron,
Hungry in body and soul
Humming as a song played...

I grab my knife and chop-board
Unsure of what to cook
Strange inspirations possess me
Filling me with *****!

My kitchen becomes a stage
In my hands- a plectrum and fretboard
Silver utensils- my live audience!
As I play divine recipes
Strumming master acoustic chords
Chopping fresh, colorful vegetables.

I dash to the remote,
Punch "Repeat" and dash back on stage
Landing on E♭ minor,
Scaling impossible notes,
I slice with razor-sharp plectrum,
On onions and other root chords
My fret arrayed with colors,
Of spinach, lettuce, tomatoes
Carrots, potatoes, olives
Pepper, cabbage and cucumbers.

I hear a thunder of applause
As I ignite the cooker
Butter sizzling in the hot pan
A staccato of sharp notes,
Ready to modulate innocent vegetables
Through spicy aromatic crescendos!

I fight hard to suppress a sneeze,
No sneezing on-stage! Unprofessional!
Multitudes of seconds rush by and…
Voila!!!

I stand for a moment
Salivating, awed at my bravura!
Wishing I could hang it on my wall
Tis beautiful like art
But I can’t eat this cake and have it!

So I dig in…
Heaven and earth kiss for a moment
L U S C I O U S!!!
Luckily, it didn’t taste nauseating
Like my last attempt.

No time for ceremonies
I munch from pan to mouth
Pausing for what may pass for a prayer,
I relish every bite!
Not that I’m a foodie or something,
But nothing beats this combo-
Of good food and soul music.

And yes,
Music is indeed food to the soul!
I devour, in view- the next meal...


© Raphael Uzor

Happiness is free...
It can't be bought with money,
It's simply priceless...

From that first moment
Tired of repeatedly failing
As I looked up instinctively
And beheld a cute petit figure
Gliding gracefully, oblivious of me!

Captivated by her laughter
Charmed by her brown eyes
Enchanted by her sheer beauty
Mesmerized by her angelic aura
I heard my heart whisper, “she’s the one”!

With divine reassurance
I embarked on the ultimate task
With a red account and a blue heart
It seemed an obvious Mission Impossible
But our love story had been authored in heaven!

In the last 365 days
We’ve argued, we’ve fought
We’ve kissed and we’ve made up
In one year, many things have changed
But one thing is constant - we’re still in love!

In their blind bid
To become westernized,
They lost touch with reality
Created shadows of themselves
Despised their own intrinsic values
Embraced a twisted dress sense
Of fallen pants and revealed underpants
Idolized everything they're not
The good, the bad, the ugly
They birthed dual personalities
Picked up foreign accents
On ****** home-based passports
The American Dream, they call it,
As they wear winter jackets
In scorching African sun
All in the name of fashion
Trading our simple hues
For complex shades unknown
Bleaching skin and hair
Trading natural black for artificial white
Unaware the very gods they adore
Are tanning theirs to look darker
Insecurity drives them mad
Inferiority complex overtakes them
As they ban mother tongues in offsprings
Placing exotic tongues on pedestals
At the expense of our cultural future.

This is not an attempt at poetry
This is wake up call to Africa
Be bold, be proud, be black!
You are BEAUTIFUL!!
You are AFRICAN!!!*


© Raphael Uzor

Through my continued journey in life
I’ve heard these words over and over
Reeling out of unwashed mouths (mine inclusive)
Ringing like unanswered noisy telephones
Spoken with little consideration
Voiced with no conviction whatsoever!

How could such passions be love?
When they so easily become hate
At the slightest provocation

How could such evil be love?
When you seek to harm me
Just because I sought another’s attention

How could such illusions be love?
When it quickly evaporates
At the mere sight of one more attractive

How can such madness be love?
When you turn violent
At the barest confrontation

How can such wickedness be love?
When you would rather see me dead
Than in the hands of another

How can such hypocrisy be love?
When you can cheat on me at will
And crave my faithfulness and loyalty

How can such lust be love?
When all you want is ***
Or some other material gain

How can such deceit be love?
When I am only a means to an end
Some tool to be used and discarded

How can such intolerance be love?
When you cannot forgive me
For erring, as expected of human nature

How can such selfishness be love?
When the only reason you care
Is for your perceived desired benefits

How can such scam be love?
When it only depends on good looks,
Fame, power or influence…

The purity of this precious idea
Has been grossly adulterated
By our wickedness and evil schemes

Its divinely intended beauty
Has been stained to triviality
By our spur-of-the-moment,
Superficial quest for gratification
Of unholy desires…

From my naïveté and observation,
There is no love among mortals
What we have is at best,
Mutual understanding and respect

For only the bond of a mother,
To her offspring- born and unborn
Comes close to a faint idea of love…

Not to mention,
The unconditional love of God!


© Raphael Uzor

Sometimes...
I lack the inspiration to write

Sometimes...
I want to sit back and,
rather than put pen to paper

I just want to read...
and enjoy the beautiful gems
on display here on HP

But the problem is...
there are too many gems
so many, I fear I won't grasp all
afraid I'd miss out on some,
some of the best ones.

So here goes...
If time passes and
I dont come by your world
its not because I don't care
neither because I'm too busy.

Sometimes I'm just overwhelmed!
So please forgive me
in advance...

I'm sorry

I read the book of Samuel
I read the story of the Israelites
Of how they rejected God
“We want a king!” they demanded
“We want to be like other nations”
Rejecting God’s kingship.

The same God who brought them up
Out of the ******* of Pharaoh
Out of slavery in Egypt
The same God who gave them victories
Over many nations and wars
The same God who had fed them
For forty years in the wilderness
Same God who had proved
Beyond reasonable doubt
That He is the King of kings
A Lord above all lords
They chose to downgrade!

I was swept away in a mind journey
As I thought of how it must have felt
To be rejected by your own children
Repudiated by your beloved
Disowned by the very people you love.

My heart bled!
The heartbreak was unimaginable
The pain was excruciating
As my mind pointed fingers of accusation
I couldn’t find befitting words
“Foolish Israelites!”
“Unrepentant idiots!”
“Stubborn generation!”
And as my mind went awry
Heaping insults on God’s people
Raining accusations on them
Judging an imperfect people as myself…

His still small voice whispered
“You are all the same”
“You have done worse”

Then it struck me
Like a lightening of a million volts
I am the Israelites
I am the very people of God
I am the same ones I condemn
I have betrayed God repeatedly
I have chosen sin above my maker
My iniquities know no bounds
I have trivialized His blood
I have made a mess of the cross.

I am the “foolish Israelites!”
I am the “unrepentant idiots!”
I am the “stubborn generation!”
My heart melted into tears
Shame covered me like a cloud
My head was bowed in ignominy.

Unable to speak or move
I lay there, weeping at my wickedness
No words were spoken
But I felt His arms embrace me
In acknowledgement of my repentance
I never deserved it
But He loved me nonetheless.
I pointed one finger at them
But three pointed back at me!


© Raphael Uzor

Went swimming today...

Tried hard to recall
Body movements and all
Front stroke, backstroke
Butterfly and stuff.

Bared bodies and bikinis
Adorned the sparkling fluid
Everywhere I looked,
There was beauty to behold
With each dive I took,
I tried to mind my business
But try as I may,
Trouble seemed to find me
Distracting my every move.

This one in particular
She swam like a shark
Causing ungodly waves
With bold flirty gestures
Causing explosions within
For seasons have rolled by
Since my last contact
With such forbidden fruits.

Under water currents,
Acting in her favor
Every stare a bullet,
Every touch- electric!
Killing my morals
Tearing down my walls
Awakening buried desires
Desires- sinful and ******
I became her mark
She, my kryptonite!
Blurring biblical views
Igniting unholy fires.

She trapped me in a corner
Possessing me to herself
She seemed so young to me
Yet she conquered my will.
Everything I stood for,
She crushed, and made me swim
In ripples from her alone.
And as my conscience rattled,
To *swim or not to swim,
She stared me in the eyes
And kissed me on the cheek!

And for a second or less
In those shallow cold waters
I felt a sweat breakthrough
On my already wet forehead.

And after this dark journey,
When time came to leave
I didn't get her number
And she didn't ask for mine.
I went home thinking
What was all that about!?!
Now I'm indoors alone
Thoughts of her haunt me
As my conscience bleeds
Reminding me of my sins!

Will I see her again?
I hope not! Maybe
I can't even remember her name
Thankfully so! Maybe
And though she seemed so harmless,
*My faith must I amend!

Get it…
     Grow!
           Live it…
                 Love!!
                        Multiply…
                              Give it up!!!