TO MY GRANDDAUGHTER ON GRANDPAS DAY
I landed a fish last summer.
It begged me to catch and release.
It said better to hunger than kill
“We are all fishes”, it reminded me,
“angling in a lake of love.”
I saw the same fish this summer
it winked at me
and released me
from its bait of worm
REMOVE THESE ANIMALS NOW
If before I wavered
I no longer hesitate to say it:
Drag these monsters off our land
these foul Fulani curs
who rape my women with abandon
like they rape their cursed cows.
I saw a video yesterday.
The presidential election in Nigeria is postponed for another week.
Who will win between Buhari and Atiku?
(In all seriousness, all other names are not on the ballot).
The question is not whether Buhari will be reelected into office as the president of Nigeria.
Ifa says Buhari will be reelected, whether you like it or not.
Gbogbo igi kọ́ lejò ń gùn (Not all trees can be scaled by the snake)
Gbogbo omi kọ́ lẹdun ń mu (The colobus monkey doesn’t drink all types of water)
Àyàfi wèrè, àyàfi dìgbòlugi (Only the insane, only the raving lunatic)
Hope is my only light
Out of all gloomy nights
Whatever hope fights
Hope prevails
ỌDÚN (Year)
Artist: Moyo Okediji
Title: ỌDÚN (Year)
Medium: silicon on canvas
Size: 96″ x 36″
ỌDÚN is a Time Traveler.
PEACE, LOVE AND HAPPINESS
Egbé lifted me up and away,
down the tunnels of clouds
and we alighted inside the ground
a million years and a thousand days
below the level of my house.
“Browse,” Àjà said, “read the entries.