ENJOY my poem with the title:
"GRAND MAMA'S GROUSE" (c) 1984
from my collection:'PETALS and THORNS'
Go, my son,go,
go and tell them,
tell them-
that garri is now gold
that fish is now fortune,
that yam is for yonder.
Tell them,
that the corn has corned the harvester's hope
and the melon has mellowed
the bachelor's taste.
Tell them
that I was married with only ten cowries
but my husband got roasted
in the heat of the senseless war.
That my sons and daughters
fled to the cities
and never returned!
That I am left here
at the mercy of Luck's leaking roof,
for the rains of rancour
over my hairless head.
Tell them,
go and tell them
that I have never tasted
the fruits of their cunny Capitalism
nor the seeds of their slippery Socialism.
Tell them
that the monster of hunger
knows no difference
between their North and their South,
between their East and their West,
between their tongues and tribes.
But each time I remember
that great,sweet day
the white man gave us
our cherished freedom,
I pray for them too
to shun this greed for gains
and be their brothers' keepers.
Tell them O!
Go and tell them
that there is whirlwind now
at the market place
and we can no more tell
between the beggars and the buyers,
between the hawkers and the hagglers,
between the traders and the thieves.
Ayo Oyoze Baje (c) Petals and Thorns, 1984.
Ask yourself the pertinent question:
***Is our quality of life any better today,
here in Nigeria?
go and tell them,
tell them-
that garri is now gold
that fish is now fortune,
that yam is for yonder.
Tell them,
that the corn has corned the harvester's hope
and the melon has mellowed
the bachelor's taste.
Tell them
that I was married with only ten cowries
but my husband got roasted
in the heat of the senseless war.
That my sons and daughters
fled to the cities
and never returned!
That I am left here
at the mercy of Luck's leaking roof,
for the rains of rancour
over my hairless head.
Tell them,
go and tell them
that I have never tasted
the fruits of their cunny Capitalism
nor the seeds of their slippery Socialism.
Tell them
that the monster of hunger
knows no difference
between their North and their South,
between their East and their West,
between their tongues and tribes.
But each time I remember
that great,sweet day
the white man gave us
our cherished freedom,
I pray for them too
to shun this greed for gains
and be their brothers' keepers.
Tell them O!
Go and tell them
that there is whirlwind now
at the market place
and we can no more tell
between the beggars and the buyers,
between the hawkers and the hagglers,
between the traders and the thieves.
Ayo Oyoze Baje (c) Petals and Thorns, 1984.
Ask yourself the pertinent question:
***Is our quality of life any better today,
here in Nigeria?
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