Orò Ilé
Artist: Moyo Okediji
Title: Orò Ilé
Medium: terracotta
Date: 2010
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Artist: Moyo Okediji
Title: Orò Ilé
Medium: terracotta
Date: 2010
My Dear Child
Before you were born—
if you raised your binoculars,
if you could peep
through the keyhole of life
Would you open the door
and walk right through?
Or would you run back
After I painted her,
she looks down at me
and asks me
what is the meaning
Captive No More V
14
The baale of Apaara,
My great grandfather
returned on horseback
only to discover that
His favorite child was gone
swept along the rabid rapids
of the slavers’ path
into the abyss of time.
Life Begins At 65
I’m only just 64, but life begins at 65
I thank all my friends who sent me birthday wishes yesterday.
I can’t wait for the party to start when, finally, I get born one year from today.
But, it’s alright. Some people are only in their thirties, forties, fifties and early sixties. They have to wait a while to get born and start rocking.
At 65, you’ve done it all. Life has thrown all it has at you, and you have stood your ground. You can easily say, “Ẹran kí la ò jẹ rí? What edible flesh am I yet to chew?”
Like the comb (ÒÒYÀ)moves smoothly through the knotty hair
may you move without wahala through your days.
Ooya comes from yà, meaning to open up.