"fela" poems
Tsala e ya nnete tota
E lerato le popota
Ga e go bone makoa
Ga e go tsenye ka sekgwa.
Fa lefatshe le tlhanoga
Le ditshotlo di tlhatloga
O mongwe fela yo o gomotsang
Ke tsala e e go ratang.
Tsala ya maaka, ramatlhajana
Tsamaya le ena nakonyana
Melato a ka e go bolaisa
Fa go buiwa o a itshegisa.
O go tsenya mo kotsing
A go potise ka fa mosing,
Le phepa la gagwe leina
O le tlhatswitse la wena.
Botsala jwa nnete
Ga bo tlhwatlhwa e bokete
Bo rekwa ka setshego
Le lerato la tlholego.
May 31, 2015
May 31, 2015 at 9:27 AM UTC
They are our fathers,
Our freedom fighters,
Our Obama's,
Legends, representing from dangerous eras
Radical views coming through the radio,
Soldiers respond whipping up on Fela
Nelson reaches for freedom,
seducing souls like an acapella
Rebuilding community in a peace concert jamming to Marley
Dim Ojukwu waves the flag, a call to the Biafran army,
The King recites the dream to a million African souls in the rally
Malcolm raises a fist to the world, our time will not be buried.
In the struggle to change the status quo,
The fight to turn the table,
Against odds they were able
Will legends become myths and fable's?
Heroes, villains or rebels?
How they portray them,
Watch closely on the cable
To be number one becomes a dream
But who pulls the puppet dancing on the strings?
the media working on the mind,
Like a snakes charm in a seduction,
Venomous schemes to cover the deception,
Poverty, crime and death with no resurrection
Greed's the genesis of all corruption,
Where is our revolution?
From the birth of the king to his crucifixion.
Love and sacrifice are his religion.
Yet examples like him become outcasts before they realize their vision
Jul 8, 2014
Jul 8, 2014 at 6:48 AM UTC
it wasn't like we didn't know what was right or wrong
but sitting under abandoned structures at two in the morning,
talking about work, money and betrayal felt like neither.
i held the big bottle of beer for the first time
while stretching it out to her.
"Add ciga join oga", was her next response.
so i pulled it out from inside the pack. her pack.
"who you be? you be pastor?
why you come? you dey n.g.o?
abi you dey dea dey form good boy
siddon dea!"
so she blew out some smoke from her mouth,
blew what was left out of her nostrils
took another sip from the green bottle
some spilling off the side of her mouth
she scratched her back and waited for the next line
we managed to talk about what we did in the day.
i, a popular janitor, for better job to hang on to.
she, trader in Brazilian hair, owed by all her friends.
but i admitted being jobless at night
while she pleased other men for cash.
so she blew out some smoke from her mouth,
blew what was left out of her nostrils
took another sip from the green bottle
some spilling off the side of her mouth
she scratched her back and waited for the next line
"teach me facebook", she said
putting the sudden silence to shame.
so i grabbed her phone with in disgust,
but with plenty of curiosity,
while wondering what i was doing here.
"na ikenna send me dis fone"
so she shows me ikennas picture.
a young man with another woman beside her.
i quickly flipped through other pictures and messages.
some were about fights, some about clubs,
the others about robberies.
she blew out some smoke from her mouth,
i stand to go. so she asks, 'you go come shrine,
fela shrine tomorrow?'
with a smile only familiar friends can read, i accepted.
afterwards, she told the security men to let me go.
'na my friend'. a wicked smile scratched on the faces
of these men who stood for balogun street's security.
and we were friends. familiar friends.
many months have passed,
i blow the heat from my lungs with a sigh
i scratched my back and wait for this memory to erase.
what was i doing there?
May 18, 2014
May 18, 2014 at 5:27 AM UTC
create a golden route for a poet like me,
let the embodiment of song carved itself
in the palms of the world beyond till lyrics
of faith light to ease the thought of my mind.
If you die before me, tell papa not to cry.
the shrine he left in my hand is still well
planted in the imaginations of his generations.
tell Fela &Giwa that Nigeria is no better,
tell Chinua Achebe that the water in our
throat cries of dry ground they stepped on.
we may not be a better cinematographer
capturing the deeds of this land but your
still photos can crop some timelines to go
with you till I come along to join your trail.
if you die before me, send a word across.
let me know the existence of heaven & hell
if Shakespeare & Okigbo & Buchi are there
so I can change course to path my emotion,
the artistic photography of the tales of hell
are the codeine conscience of anxiety in us.
we die before the masquerade halt in the air.
Husky tears would I drop on your grave
to be taken to Mandela & Luther King.
there are roses I will take from the clay ***
Of my father to your graveyard to give to Ify
my hearted lover in the morning of miracles.
if you die before me, this tattered call would
I make to our ancestors for a perfect survival.
this land is a disco dance hall you must tell
Yar'du of Fate & tears crossing our eyes
in a patterned way to be christened life's joy.
this land is a feminist like Chimamanda A.N,
this country is a pun star you must tell Ken.
tell my cousin Ezekiel to wait for me longer,
I am coming. to join him in benedicted rein of
our country.
If you die before me, I'll be on your graveyard
for a life time cracking up the foundation of
the world to find death. I will ask him if the
other phase is better than here before coming.
suffering is not meant to be dreamed twice,
Two week-ed weaknesses are the wink wires
connecting our lives in a radioed embryo .
this is my recap
a captured scene
Let's bake life and dreams
till death call us all to himself
then the world becomes empty
love finds love mingling in hands...
die before me & be my eyes beyond.
©John Chizoba Vincent
From_A_Pen_Refusing_frustration.
May 23, 2018
May 23, 2018 at 9:23 AM UTC
They asked me if I was planning to stay with you forever
And I told them music is eternal
And playing this tune will be reminding me of you
You're like Fela Kuti and Salif Keita on a mixtape
Or Stevie Wonder and Smokie Robinson on Def Jam auto tune
You're my music
And as I am about to give highest accolade to essence of being and balance
Bear with me
Sit still as I take you to depths where oceans of lyric and rhyme
Are brought down by tide
Into this slowly throbbing heart
And the music of the sun
Is made clear in the reflection of our eyes
I can see the notes dancing
Like ecstasies aroused by the kicks and snares of an old school beat
Like messages found in a calypso
Dance with me
Remind me like the rhythm of the night that you'll last forever
And the streaks of light from dawn shan't be seen
Till I nestle in thine arms
So play me the dead man's tune
You're my music.
Apr 13, 2016
Apr 13, 2016 at 1:03 AM UTC
No Fela and son could tell of
this present roaring Government.
We would soon forget this forgery pain
upon the odours the land created.
Empty bellies shall revive casualties
to beckon the spring of spiritualism
&the bed shall not talk of absence of
bodies on the feet of her tender care.
Our today has queued into the past
as our yesterday moved cautiously
like a troubled legs walking into exile.
Beware of Dogs!
Beware of those who came as saints
to rule you into heaven & paradise.
One was accused yesterday & today
He that accused him presented him,
the other fell on countless occasions
yet, you mounted his bills all over town.
I searched your eyes & I found nothing,
It moves like the eyes watching a
toddler step, coated with innocence.
I see the nakedness of my heart in the
Scars of my people yet, they've astrayed.
Do not hold a demon-smile between
your dark teeth!
& in your eyes, memories of lights...
Do not upset the snoring ritual of the dead.
Go home, help the living live better.
©John Chizoba Vincent
#TheSage.
Jan 23, 2019
Jan 23, 2019 at 4:04 AM UTC
Oh! Africa!
Let me tell you
About my dearest Africa
The cradle of human civilization
The land of wonders!
Undoubtedly, the second most populous
Of all the continents
Where Gazzeles run to survive
And Lions pursue to feed
In a battle of survival
Let me tell you about Africa
Covering six percent of earths surface
Home to Nelson Mandela
And greats like Fela Anikulapo Kuti
But for Ethiopia and Liberia
We were all colonised
Introduced to foreign gods and culture
In all these occurrence
We never forgot Africa!
170millon of us speak Arabic
130million speak French
With over 2000 different languages
We are the kings of diversity
Let me tell you about Africa
Where we hold the ace
As the hottest continent on earth
Surely, a noble bragging right!
Go back to your history books
Let's set the record straight
Africa is not a country
Neither do we live on trees
It is a blessed and peculiar continent
Let me tell you about Africa
Where our only problem is governance
And corruption reigns supreme
Oh! Africa! My Africa!
Wait a second!
Are you planning a getaway?
Visit the Omo River in Ethiopia
The birthplace of Emperor Halie Selasie
Would you like to track Gorillas?
Then would love it
The Virunga Mountains of DR Congo
It is worth all your penny
The breathe taking scenery
That Zanzizar offers
Will make you relocate to Africa
Surely we are
The real Ministers of Enjoyment
If you want a birds view
Of our beautiful continent
Make it to the tallest mountain in Africa
Mountain Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
It stands at 19,340feet
Kenya reminds you of nature
Cape Town, our most beautiful City
The Mummies and Pyramids of Egypt
And the delicacies of Calabar, Nigeria
It is appointed to die once
But before you do
Visit our beautiful continent
Your life will never remain the same
That your education may be complete
And I hope this inspires you!
Sep 9, 2019
Sep 9, 2019 at 4:01 PM UTC
Hey! Play it really low
War in control, when we were young
And now we are old, the chrome guns
Are the same as the charming wine of the nuns
The metaphysics of the majestic soul
Is just an entitlement, it's strong in this one
She says "I deserve this." unable to hide her inadequacies
And reservations about presidential fools, like the rogue agents
Like me and fela grupi, till the clocks run out
The guns come out in the Brixton Sun
Time for gun control, like the paper planes
That fly like the paper dreams
The taste of thin rhymes that you had your singles on
Singularity, I interest your plural discretionary warning
I have been given many caveats by the ladies at the Taco Bell
The eatery still welcomes the immigrants, like the American Government
I felt better about changing my mind, regarding the tall sights
And the people digging ditches and splitting the bleeding cigarettes and marijuana bills
Jul 29, 2019
Jul 29, 2019 at 6:52 PM UTC
Chains unbound , Shackles broken , Voices unheard finally
spoken.....
A raised fist to empower a community , to show strength , defiance , resistance and unity.... John Carlos & Tommie Smith
A man who had a dream , so big it endures til this very day , so big , it can't be cast cast away.... Martin Luther King
A lady who sat in front of the bus , thinking , why seating there was such a fuss , confident and brave.... Rosa Parks
A man loved by an African nation , capturing all with with his own brand of Afrobeat music creation.... Fela Kuti
A lady tending to the sick and wounded , bruised and battered , though a ghastly sight , ensuring their well-being , to her ... was all that mattered....Mary Seacole
Throughout history and even now , many have shown....
B- Brilliance and Bravery
L- Liveliness
A- Ambition
C - Courage , Confidence and Creativity
K - Knowledge
Oct 26, 2018
Oct 26, 2018 at 2:45 PM UTC
Music is all around us.
All you have to do is just listen.
The sounds it creates and all the things it says.
Music is all around us.
All you have to do is just listen.
I believe someday it will last forever,which pushes us together.
I'M BINO
Aug 10, 2018
Aug 10, 2018 at 1:06 PM UTC