JUNE 12
'for the season when Nigeria left us'
They never warned us
That Esè Ògbè* will never
Get to cross-over
The road at Ìminì.**
They never said it
That the Ìrókò tree
Will never bend to kiss
The earth at dawn.
They never cautioned
That the rising sun
Will set but never drown
In the inhabitancy of Olókun***
They never taught us
That the radiant Yemoja****
Will never watch
The sea go dry of fishes.
But they showed us
That our collective will
Gathered under the blistering sun
On the day we stood up together
(From the North to the South)
Will never prevail.
And they showed us
That our will as a people
Will never be more than
Our glittering sweat of labor.
Notes
* A hill outside the town of Ilora, Oyo state, Nigeria.
** One of the villages or settlements around Ilora and the closest to the Ese Ogbe hill.
*** The Yoruba goddess of the ocean.
**** Another Yoruba water goddess (of the sea) and the mother of all fish.
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