The Birth
Of a New Year? New opportunities? New visions? New directions? New hopes? New tools? New thoughts? New leaf? New step? New energy? New start? New move? New song? New voice? New motive? New motif? New dance? New question? New answer? New mission? New me?
ÌWÀ
“Olódùmarè has several wives,” my father said. “Do you know that?”
We were strolling back home from his writing workshop that evening, and I was seventeen. I always accompanied him to his writing workshops where he taught playwriting
Don’t wait for mama or papa to die before you start celebrating them.You know you will kill cows for their funeral ceremonies. Now, get a goat while mama is alive
Christmas painting in Austin. Dig it. https://fb.watch/jXWuw6Gsg_/
Angela:You said big is beautiful, prof,But my husband does not like me big.He says I am bigger than before we got marriedand I need to shed some weightor get liposuction.
You Are Our Sunshine
If your skin is dark, we praise you as Adúmáradán.
If your skin is light, we hail you as Apọ́nbéporẹ́.
If you are thin, we salute you as Ọ̀pẹ́lẹ́ńgẹ́.
YES YOU CAN FLY
Butterflies and birds have no airports
Yet they take off and fly with
no navigation maps.
Fireflies rise and glide around
without pilot gears
Santa Mo says repeat after me, i am a spiritual being, not just a physical entity.2022 is my year to shine.2022 is my year to heal.2022 is my time to fly.
Rivers of Life
Folks are flowing waters:
We fail to connect upstream,
Downstream we shall meet
Those you shun today,
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.
***This is a story that my Luo friend told me. She says it’s from among the Luo people of Kenya.
In Yoruba we call it “Àǹfààní àdúgbò.”
Please help me translate Àǹfààní àdúgbò to Oyinbo.
Wife 1: Our husband has not yet returned home?
Wife 2: No o. It is now 11 pm.
The downfall of a man is not the end of his wife.
Make una softly-softly for end-of-year parties o.