Haven’t seen my homeland since August 2019.
I miss the colorful attires on the streets.
I want to listen to the people speak their various languages.
To buy akara elepo by the roadside.
To flirt with the market women.
And to tell olopa inside go-slow, “Abeg na only 50 naira dey my pocket as I dey now. Mek I dey go?”
When shallai see mai natif land, awill nefa foget mai om.
Omidan (Damsel)
Artist: Moyo Okediji
Title: Two Friends and a Bird
Medium: Terracotta
Date: 2010
Do you know this song?
Ẹ fà á nírungbọn tu!
Ẹ fà á nírungbọn tu ò
Àgbàlagbà tí ò lówó lọ́wọ́
Tó ń dá irungbọ̀n sí
Ẹ fà á nírungbọn tu.
Back to the studio.
Àkòdì Òrìṣà artists painting the outside fence at Ile Ife, Nigeria.
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?”
Those who love you
often don’t let you know;
you may discover their love
in their whispers, looks or gestures.
But it is those who hate you
that shout hostility at you loud and clear.