(For The Poem, ?EAGLE ON IROKO: For C. A. at 70? By Osita Ezeliora:
(To the background throbbing of the drum and flute).
BY ODIMEGWU ONWUMERE
I quaked my head and lavished my teeth
when the drum resonates with a resilient rendition
at noon, night, and morning
when there?s an ecumenical of the assemblage of pen pushers;
is it on?Eke, Orie, Afo?ka?o?bu?Nkwo
the legs of followers of the masquerade
must quake the earth.
I can hear the hit, the beat;
I can hear the voice, the velocity,
the pace of the ants walking home;
no matter how dark the night
any ant must know its hole.
I can hear the drum like a baby?s voice so enchanting
but perceive the drum with an ancient age;
an old woman does not get old
in a dance she knows how to dance better.
I can hear the echoes of the drum
ranting with a tone full of questions,
questions begging for answer
because the likes of the drum
are dispersed in diverse areas
with unrelieved burdens in their hearts.
No one teaches the lizard how to climb the Iroko,
but have men not tested might like men
at Abagana, Nkpor, Okigwe, Uli, Owerri
in the defense of pride?
Men now spray sand on each other
like the playing children at?nkpacha
and now tongue lash each other
like the women at Eke-Mbeke
at the expiration of the exhibition
of the might, when the might was over.
I can still hear the ebullient drum
which starts and attracts
a lot of admirers to its tantalizing tone
but men do what come exactly from their mind.
(First Published?Friday, February 22, 2008).
Odimegwu Onwumere?is a vibrant prolific author and poet, writes from, Rivers State, Nigeria. MOBILE: +2348032552855
