Concerning death and royalty, Charles the 1st of England claimed absolute power with divine right to rule. Angry Englishmen got Charles the 1st beheaded and Oliver Cromwell stood on the balcony of the parliament to raise one of his hands drenched with the blood of King Charles the 1st. Look at my hand, Cromwell intoned, the blood of the King is not blue. It is red just like yours and mine, and the crowd cheered and rejoiced.
Once upon a time, the Yoruba folklore claimed, there was dispute between Death and Money about who of the two was superior to the other. Money convinced Death to follow him to the King for settlement. On reaching the palace, the King asked them to state their case and Money spoke first. Money told the King that no one can live in this world without money, it is money one uses in buying house, car, food and marrying. Since no human being goes around thinking about Death but struggling to have unlimited wealth in terms of Money, it (Money) is un-doubtfully superior to Death.
Death looked the King in the face and asked, where is the person who sat on that throne you are now sitting? The King, shaking and sweating profusely answered, he has died. Death then told the King, I am the hunting dog of God that catches up with people no matter how fast and smart they run. I am irrational and unpredictable. I will leave the sick and kill the healthy; leave the old and kill the young; leave the poor and kill the rich; and both the poor and rich will be killed by me. I kill soothsayers and physicians; and whenever I choose to strike at the King, he will no longer be able to sit on the throne or wear the crown. Money becomes useless to anyone I kill because I never allow them to take anything into the grave. Death did not wait for judgment before he disappeared but returned the following day to demonstrate his power by killing the King. Death is the ultimate end of all, and Kings/Queens as well as subjects shall all die but how is what we do not know.
S.Kadiri
Date: Tue, 3 May 2016 07:30:15 +0100
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - The Royal Messenger Lies Again (Poem)
From: chidi.opara@gmail.com
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com; chidi.opara@yahoo.com; chidi.opara@gmail.com
By Chidi Anthony Opara
The war dances end.
The symbolic sword fights end.
The rituals of blood end.
The royal gong sounds,
The royal messenger speaks
Sending message
To the kingdom whose silence
The graveyard envies.
"Our immortal monarch
Goes on a journey",
The royal messenger lies.
Men forced
To shave their heads,
Women forced
To shave their pubic places.
The royal messenger
Continues the assault on truth.
"Our immortal monarch mounts
The throne of his forefathers
In the great beyond".
The royal messenger lies again.
Vultures hover
And descend on the bodies
Of slaves sacrificed.
Decomposition
Awaits the body of the monarch
Even in that ornamented grave.
(Poem presented as social service, all rights reserved.)
--
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Once upon a time, the Yoruba folklore claimed, there was dispute between Death and Money about who of the two was superior to the other. Money convinced Death to follow him to the King for settlement. On reaching the palace, the King asked them to state their case and Money spoke first. Money told the King that no one can live in this world without money, it is money one uses in buying house, car, food and marrying. Since no human being goes around thinking about Death but struggling to have unlimited wealth in terms of Money, it (Money) is un-doubtfully superior to Death.
Death looked the King in the face and asked, where is the person who sat on that throne you are now sitting? The King, shaking and sweating profusely answered, he has died. Death then told the King, I am the hunting dog of God that catches up with people no matter how fast and smart they run. I am irrational and unpredictable. I will leave the sick and kill the healthy; leave the old and kill the young; leave the poor and kill the rich; and both the poor and rich will be killed by me. I kill soothsayers and physicians; and whenever I choose to strike at the King, he will no longer be able to sit on the throne or wear the crown. Money becomes useless to anyone I kill because I never allow them to take anything into the grave. Death did not wait for judgment before he disappeared but returned the following day to demonstrate his power by killing the King. Death is the ultimate end of all, and Kings/Queens as well as subjects shall all die but how is what we do not know.
S.Kadiri
Date: Tue, 3 May 2016 07:30:15 +0100
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - The Royal Messenger Lies Again (Poem)
From: chidi.opara@gmail.com
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com; chidi.opara@yahoo.com; chidi.opara@gmail.com
By Chidi Anthony Opara
The war dances end.
The symbolic sword fights end.
The rituals of blood end.
The royal gong sounds,
The royal messenger speaks
Sending message
To the kingdom whose silence
The graveyard envies.
"Our immortal monarch
Goes on a journey",
The royal messenger lies.
Men forced
To shave their heads,
Women forced
To shave their pubic places.
The royal messenger
Continues the assault on truth.
"Our immortal monarch mounts
The throne of his forefathers
In the great beyond".
The royal messenger lies again.
Vultures hover
And descend on the bodies
Of slaves sacrificed.
Decomposition
Awaits the body of the monarch
Even in that ornamented grave.
(Poem presented as social service, all rights reserved.)
--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
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