Life is full of commas
Too many question marks but not enough answers
The story of a great 26 year old black female ended abruptly by a white man's full stop
Is racism still alive? I'll be mad if he pleads insanity......
Education is in a deplorable state: English majors don't know when to use a colon or a semicolon
Should universities keep on striking or should we just strike down the greedy leaders still hanging around like an apostrophe
The revolution will not be televised
It feels like yesterday when we all dispersed at the mere sight of soldiers during the fuel subsidy brouhaha
Sanctuary! We dashed to the pastors for help
But to our great surprise, we discovered that we are all in the same bracket.
Please don't quote me but if you do, use quotation marks.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Sunday, December 8, 2013
The Myth Called Love
Love is a myth
Until it happens to you
Magical but experienced by a few
Cupid’s miscue, a shot to the heart
Can’t catch a breath, such a beautiful haven
Undeserving, this must be heaven
So beautiful it hurts
But looks can be deceiving
Mind ponders about living or leaving
Tension in the air
It is palpable
A kiss without passion, the night is culpable
It leaves a bitter-sweet taste
Can’t swallow nor spit
Gloomy ambiance but candles were lit
Loves is a myth
Until it happens to you
But when in doubt, is that a cue?
Until it happens to you
Magical but experienced by a few
Cupid’s miscue, a shot to the heart
Can’t catch a breath, such a beautiful haven
Undeserving, this must be heaven
So beautiful it hurts
But looks can be deceiving
Mind ponders about living or leaving
Tension in the air
It is palpable
A kiss without passion, the night is culpable
It leaves a bitter-sweet taste
Can’t swallow nor spit
Gloomy ambiance but candles were lit
Loves is a myth
Until it happens to you
But when in doubt, is that a cue?
Who Go Fit Survive for Nigeria
This is a sample from a poem by Gil Scott-Heron called 'Who will
survive in America'. Gil was a great spoken word artist and musician,
who spoke against several ills of the society. He has inspired me a lot
especially with this piece i sampled. i read it all the time, and the
message is so genuine, true and revealing. so i asked myself, how can i get this message across to my people in a way that they can relate to it? Then, i decided to sample it. Enjoy.
P.S I'm the first writer to sample a poem. so always remember, i started this movement. lol
We living as we do scatter scatter
And the new word to have is prosperity
People don’t even want to hear the preacher teach or preach unless he is talking about economic breakthroughs
And Nigeria is now yama yama
Instead of filled yanfu yanfu blessings
The children who were nurtured to become greats, woke up one day digging Politician and 419 as role models
Nigeria was greeted good morning and we had not yet opened our eyes. (Fuel subsidy)
The signs of lies were placed beneath our beautiful
We learned to our surprise, untold tale of scandal
Many decades buried in the pit pushed down daily by nasty debris
Naija was a bastard the illegitimate daughter of the military whose legs were then spread around and a rapist known as democracy – demo dey crase
Peace, equality and justice were the revolutionary code names that preceded the ghen ghen in the military regimes crotch
What does success really mean?
All I want is a good home, a wife and children and some afang soup to feed them
After all we have experienced and not learned from
Build a new route to Aso rock if you get odeshi
Who go fit survive for Nigeria?
Who go fit survive for Nigeria?
Who go fit survive for Nigeria?
Who go fit survive for Nigeria?
David-Clay Onah
GIL SCOTT-HERON lives on.
Writers note:
Scatter Scatter: Topsy- Turvy
Yama Yama: something that causes an irritable look or disdain
Yanfu yanfu: a lot, plenty, in abundance
Ghen ghen: action, a sound that comes before action. Signal for danger
Odeshi: Supernatural power
P.S I'm the first writer to sample a poem. so always remember, i started this movement. lol
We living as we do scatter scatter
And the new word to have is prosperity
People don’t even want to hear the preacher teach or preach unless he is talking about economic breakthroughs
And Nigeria is now yama yama
Instead of filled yanfu yanfu blessings
The children who were nurtured to become greats, woke up one day digging Politician and 419 as role models
Nigeria was greeted good morning and we had not yet opened our eyes. (Fuel subsidy)
The signs of lies were placed beneath our beautiful
We learned to our surprise, untold tale of scandal
Many decades buried in the pit pushed down daily by nasty debris
Naija was a bastard the illegitimate daughter of the military whose legs were then spread around and a rapist known as democracy – demo dey crase
Peace, equality and justice were the revolutionary code names that preceded the ghen ghen in the military regimes crotch
What does success really mean?
All I want is a good home, a wife and children and some afang soup to feed them
After all we have experienced and not learned from
Build a new route to Aso rock if you get odeshi
Who go fit survive for Nigeria?
Who go fit survive for Nigeria?
Who go fit survive for Nigeria?
Who go fit survive for Nigeria?
David-Clay Onah
GIL SCOTT-HERON lives on.
Writers note:
Scatter Scatter: Topsy- Turvy
Yama Yama: something that causes an irritable look or disdain
Yanfu yanfu: a lot, plenty, in abundance
Ghen ghen: action, a sound that comes before action. Signal for danger
Odeshi: Supernatural power
Sunday, April 7, 2013
The Angry Poet
Frustrated and hungry
A hungry man is an angry man
The Bible says an angry man is a killer
So i don't mean to be angry
But what does it take to write like Kaine Agary
Is it really a white man's world
Or better yet, a light skin's world in Africa?
"yellow yellow" she said
Isn't that derogatory?
Why is my pen writing faster than my thoughts?
Oh! i forgot, i'm angry
I don't mean to be angry
But what does it take to write a book like Purple Hibiscus?
Is it a blessing or a curse?
Would the popularity drive me crazy?
Would i lose my morals and beliefs?
Would i be more concerned about awards than imparting knowledge?
I hate fame
Wait, why do i sound like this?
Oh! it's because i'm angry
Sefi Atta said "Everything good will come"
Oh please, spare me
Is it when i'm 100 like Abraham
Or i have to wait for luck like Jonathan?
Why is everybody not born black? so we can bleach to become white
Why are we not all short? so that the more we believe the taller we become
Why didn't everybody start at zero? so we can all wish for a hero
I want equality and equity
I want communism
Do i really want that or am i just angry?
Why am i angry?
Oh, it's because Chinua Achebe said "There was a country"
Enough of the hindsight
Our parents spend the day talking about how great the nation was
but the people ruining the country are the ones that enjoyed it when it was'
Yesterday, the southerners kidnapped and got compensated
Today, the northerners blow up the nation and are granted amnesty
Tomorrow, i shall rob a bank and the government shall pardon me with a million dollars to stop my crimes.
What am i really talking about?
Am i deviating?
Is there any hope?
Is there any reason to be optimistic?
The children are the leaders of tomorrow
Does this mean our future leaders are addicted to drugs and 'ogogoro'?
What a shame!
After all that is said and not done
Did someone just ask me why i'm angry?
This is why i'm angry
Why aren't you angry?
A hungry man is an angry man
The Bible says an angry man is a killer
So i don't mean to be angry
But what does it take to write like Kaine Agary
Is it really a white man's world
Or better yet, a light skin's world in Africa?
"yellow yellow" she said
Isn't that derogatory?
Why is my pen writing faster than my thoughts?
Oh! i forgot, i'm angry
I don't mean to be angry
But what does it take to write a book like Purple Hibiscus?
Is it a blessing or a curse?
Would the popularity drive me crazy?
Would i lose my morals and beliefs?
Would i be more concerned about awards than imparting knowledge?
I hate fame
Wait, why do i sound like this?
Oh! it's because i'm angry
Sefi Atta said "Everything good will come"
Oh please, spare me
Is it when i'm 100 like Abraham
Or i have to wait for luck like Jonathan?
Why is everybody not born black? so we can bleach to become white
Why are we not all short? so that the more we believe the taller we become
Why didn't everybody start at zero? so we can all wish for a hero
I want equality and equity
I want communism
Do i really want that or am i just angry?
Why am i angry?
Oh, it's because Chinua Achebe said "There was a country"
Enough of the hindsight
Our parents spend the day talking about how great the nation was
but the people ruining the country are the ones that enjoyed it when it was'
Yesterday, the southerners kidnapped and got compensated
Today, the northerners blow up the nation and are granted amnesty
Tomorrow, i shall rob a bank and the government shall pardon me with a million dollars to stop my crimes.
What am i really talking about?
Am i deviating?
Is there any hope?
Is there any reason to be optimistic?
The children are the leaders of tomorrow
Does this mean our future leaders are addicted to drugs and 'ogogoro'?
What a shame!
After all that is said and not done
Did someone just ask me why i'm angry?
This is why i'm angry
Why aren't you angry?
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Kpafucation of Naija
As i walk through the market, i stop and stare.
I see the market women bleaching but they are still not fair
The youths of today have gone astray
Blame it on the wind, it blows our conscience away
Get rich or die trying 'yahoo-yahoo' scheme
Perfectly executed better than a Spielberg film
I guess it's our payback for what they did to us
120 Naira? what a toll on us.
Looking at the end of the tunnel but still no light
Electricity is such a luxury, what a plight
They say he without sin should cast the first stone
I think he without sin should cast the first vote
The rulers are a reflection of the masses
whats a palliative? we need more buses
Oil money fuels our thoughts
but no petrol to fill our trucks
Citizens taking laws into their own hands
while others sit and watch in the stands
Alleged crime, don't beat and kill him like a malu
oh no, my heart goes out to the victims of Aluu.
David-Clay Onah.
I see the market women bleaching but they are still not fair
The youths of today have gone astray
Blame it on the wind, it blows our conscience away
Get rich or die trying 'yahoo-yahoo' scheme
Perfectly executed better than a Spielberg film
I guess it's our payback for what they did to us
120 Naira? what a toll on us.
Looking at the end of the tunnel but still no light
Electricity is such a luxury, what a plight
They say he without sin should cast the first stone
I think he without sin should cast the first vote
The rulers are a reflection of the masses
whats a palliative? we need more buses
Oil money fuels our thoughts
but no petrol to fill our trucks
Citizens taking laws into their own hands
while others sit and watch in the stands
Alleged crime, don't beat and kill him like a malu
oh no, my heart goes out to the victims of Aluu.
David-Clay Onah.
Back to the Future
Living in a country where it is hard to pay rent
Topsy-turvy state, still searching for the president
The more you look the less you see
Abracadabra, "no be so e suppose be"
Power is a drug some want it by force
It takes more then a scholar to explain the killings in Jos
Chaos everywhere, people can't stop running
Manipulating politicians, they are just too cunning
Hmmm but they blame it on tribe and religion
Militancy has become so fancy
take away the handsome
and demand for a ransom
You say to yourself "but these problems are long gone"
And before you finish this poem
You hear a loud sound BOOM!!
Hmmm! Could that be boko haram?
David-Clay Onah
Late Night
Fresh and bright white sheets
Oblivious of my surroundings
So cold, i cant feel my feet
lost in limbo with my mind wandering
Late night, deep in my sleep
I see darkness in nothingness
Tossing and turning but can not wake
I try to scream but silence nonetheless
Helpless like i'm in an abandoned lake
I fight, push and shove
hopelessly like falling into an abyss
I think of family and the ones i love
Is this my last moment? can i hear the snake hiss?
Late night, deep in my sleep
All hope seems lost. What an excruciating pain
Then i remember His holy name and scream
JESUS!!
Breathing and sweating profusely
Bright lights wake me with shouts of 'up Nepa'
Sigh of relief
Late night, deep in my sleep.
David-Clay Onah.
Oblivious of my surroundings
So cold, i cant feel my feet
lost in limbo with my mind wandering
Late night, deep in my sleep
I see darkness in nothingness
Tossing and turning but can not wake
I try to scream but silence nonetheless
Helpless like i'm in an abandoned lake
I fight, push and shove
hopelessly like falling into an abyss
I think of family and the ones i love
Is this my last moment? can i hear the snake hiss?
Late night, deep in my sleep
All hope seems lost. What an excruciating pain
Then i remember His holy name and scream
JESUS!!
Breathing and sweating profusely
Bright lights wake me with shouts of 'up Nepa'
Sigh of relief
Late night, deep in my sleep.
David-Clay Onah.
Que Sera
The low becomes high
The struggle becomes a dream
The poor gets by
The hook becomes a bream
Hatred becomes love
Deceit becomes truth
A problem to solve
Hypothesis becomes the proof
The top becomes lonely
Three becomes a crowd
The bottom is bubbly
Silence becomes loud
The black becomes a leader
The future becomes bright
The priest is now a sinner
The day becomes night
you become I
I become you
We were made in His likeness
Men become gods.
David-Clay Onah
The struggle becomes a dream
The poor gets by
The hook becomes a bream
Hatred becomes love
Deceit becomes truth
A problem to solve
Hypothesis becomes the proof
The top becomes lonely
Three becomes a crowd
The bottom is bubbly
Silence becomes loud
The black becomes a leader
The future becomes bright
The priest is now a sinner
The day becomes night
you become I
I become you
We were made in His likeness
Men become gods.
David-Clay Onah
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