54 | The Lion King
Poems
The Balance
Sheet of Life
By William Sunday
Our birth is our opening
balance
Death is our closing stock
Prejudiced views are our
liabilities,
Creative ideas are our
assets,
Our heart is our current
asset,
Our soul is our fixed asset,
Our brain is our fixed
deposit,
Our thinking is our current
account
Our achievements are
our capital,
Our character and
morals are our stock in
trade,
Our friends are our
general reserves,
Our values and behav-
iour are our goodwill,
Our patience is our inter-
est earned,
Our love, our dividends,
Our children are our
bonus issues,
Our education, parents,
knowledge are our
investments,
Our experience is our
premium account
The aim is a total
accurate balance sheet.
Somehow We
Survive and
Somehow, We
Trudge On
By Prince Ayewoh
Though kidnappings and demands for
ransom have assumed epic proportions
With the Black berets losing their
manhood and gumption
And with the aristocracy and their
alliances being the ready targets
Is it not a germane reason for the
defenders, to restore our rights to
freedom of existence ?
Somehow we survive and somehow ,we
trudge on …
Though the Discos are playing discord-
ant discos, enmeshing us in further
darkness
With their vacillation and oscillation
under the weight of the humongous
challenges
And with our burgeoning industrialization
being brought crudely and ingloriously
to its knees
Is it not yet uhuru for the powers to
retrieve their seared consciences and
retrogress this malady?
Somehow we survive and somehow, we
trudge on …
Though our sovereign wealth be pillaged
by our unconscionable oligarchy
With our legalistic jurisprudence taking
on unholy allegiances
And with the hope of the hoi-polloi and
the unborn ,brazenly violated
Is it a wait for godot for our liberty
champions to discover spine and
engender salvation ?
Somehow we survive and somehow, we
trudge on …
Though insurgency, bombings and
wanton destruction now pervade the
serenity of our Fatherland
With our Capitals, Cities, Towns and
Homesteads excoriated in this orgy of
Boko Haramic despoliation
And with fear taking up domicile in the
hearts of the Jack Boots; what, with
obsolescence in their powerhouse
Is it not enough justification for the
comity to frenziedly seek to bring back
our girls and preserve our equanimity
?Somehow we survive and somehow,
we shall trudge on …
whence our tormentors come, our broth-
ers across the pond will come forth in
the spirit of recompense and join in our
struggle to save our daughters
And once again, we shall hold our
heads high in dignity as one.
Silent Screams
By Efe Ogufere
Sharp screams pierce the starless night
As the veil of thick black filled our eyes
It has been eons since we have seen any light
Seems tonight, terror wears a different guise
A thousand thoughts race through my mind
Their agonizing scream causes common sense to
flee. What could have frightened the others this
much? I should take a look, I thought
I jump to my feet with naught but my nightie
My Daddy’s gift to me for besting Lizzy
Coming tops in my class was a dream
I have never felt so awake in blissful realization
Ten girls in a spacious dormitory
We have never felt so trapped
Soon the screams grow louder and draw closer
We huddled like a frightened flock in the cold
Aisha sniffs and begins to weep
Others seem drawn to her despair
And in no time, the weeping and wailing is in unison
Rivers of salt and a shudder, hopelessly waiting for
the worst
The Matron’s scream can be heard across the hall
She must have thought to bully them as she bullies us
That obviously didn’t turn out as planned
Another scream and then silence...
Embers of Time
By Muyideen Ayinla
I hope you still think of me
Wherever you may be?
I hope you still hold our love dear
Now that I am not near
Your sweet voice still reverberates in my mind,
Sometimes I order my mind to rewind-
That part where you professed your love for
me
And how you referred to us as ‘we’
I hope that fire still burns within?
I hope the embers from the flames
are still breathing?
I pray they light-up my wish
And bring you within my reach.
I still think of you,
And that love garden made for
two.
My love for you is anew
Just like the fresh morning dew.
