68 •
The Lion King
• April - June 2017
MEMOIRS OF A VETERAN
By Adejuwon Adegboyega
Little was I
When gaiety eluded my mind
Amuses then farfetched
Duty, out to me called
Patriotism a summons made
Looked I in conscription’s eyes
So enraptured, said “YES”
A pledge to honour
An oath to country
Combat my frailty seared
Comrades my fealty shared
The quest to survive
The instinct to kill
Alas, hands from rifles un-clutched
Of soldiers slumbered away
Life transiently slipped
Like trees felled in woods
For their dusk’s pitched at noon
Providence on me has smiled
For my life does recount the tale!
CHARACTER TITBITS
By Moshood Azeez
Be a stalwart. Resist temptation
Keep a level head, don’t give in
That’s how character is built
That is how integrity is forged!
In today’s fussy and effusive world;
A person with toned-up character,
Is one whom people can look up to
This is something worth achieving
These are people the world is seeking
These are the decision makers of
tomorrow
Weaklings who cave in are not worth
their salt
Their value in life is approximately
negligible
People of stamina, fortitude and
courage
Are the ones the world seeks out, one
by one
They are always honoured in due
time
Never forget that. Never!
KNOW LOVE
By Pedro de Castro
Know love is not to say absurd
But also not to be deaf
Because with love comes deafness
Know love is the friendship of living
To have confidence in you
To get it over with suspicion
Know love is to feel the heart
To be able to house up to you
That is the first prayer
Everything about me is up to you
Know love is not wasting love
But also have someone to be done
and there is love
For the sake of the body and desire
Because only you feed me with your
kiss
AFRICA’S UNION
By Ginikachukwu Ogoke
With tales of poverty, sickness and
greed engulfing the people,
And as corruption with failures in
governance, is prevalent in the air,
Our lands still remain fertile, arable
and flourishing with hope.
Even as we suffer the dearth of true
leadership and role models,
We have remained resilient, religious,
sometimes hopeless,
But still we dance and make merry for
this is the land of our Birth.
From the stretch of the deserts to the
stream of the waters,
We find deposits of diamonds and
black gold without utter,
And their impact in our
POETRY & ARTS
Being a Man
Painting by Nonso Nduanya
This painting portrays a real man
as a thinker with a big heart.
One who is philosophical in his
outlook and observes things from
all perspectives before taking
decisive action. Such a person
faces different challenges and
facets of life with the same
approach and comes out
victorious in the end.
‘Being a man’ by Nonso Nduanya
(Acrylic on Canvas 2017).
