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OKWESILIEZE
OKWESILIEZE Today, I saw a mysterious thing A thing that vexed me to my very soul I saw the black man dressed like a king But crouching in the shadows with a begging bowl His children were starving in fields of cassava Dying of diseases the palm kernel could cure Homeless in a land of rock and timber “Why are you begging?â€- He said, “I am poor†Today, I saw a mysterious thing A wonder so great I cannot tell it I saw the black man dressed like a king But lying in the dust, crying at my feet His legs were sturdy like the iroko His forests were rich and teeming with game His muscles rippled like the proud Zambezi I told him, “Get up!â€, but he said, “I am lame†Today, I saw a mysterious thing So shocking I have no words to say I saw the black man dressed like a king But standing like the lost by the highway He huddles in a cage that had no gate He could see where the keys to his chains were kept He stood in clamps but they had no weight “Why are you here?â€- He said, “I am trapped†Today, I saw a mysterious thing Oh! How can I tell such a horrible story I saw the black man dressed like a king But he was sharing a sleeping mat with poverty His poverty was a fat man with a bulging stomach Lying on his back, beside a pot full of treasure This knowledge was all he seemed to lack: That he could get up and make his own future Note: “Okwesilize†is an Igbo name which literally means, “He is supposed to be king†? THE REVOLUTION HAS NO TRIBE Do you not know that poverty is not an Ijaw man? He will not spare the rest of us and afflict only the Ishan He will step over the river and come across the border So, when the drums sound let everybody answer Do you not know that corruption is not from Nekede? He will not hear that Ife had no dealings with Modakeke He will wake up all of our children at might with hunger So, when the drums sound, let everybody answer Do you not know that HIV/AIDS is not Kanuri He will not select his victims and kill only the Fulani He will set the land ablaze from the delta to the sahara So, when the drums sound, let everybody answer Do you not know that our enemies have no face? They are indigenes of no state, they come from no place And, if this boat capsizes every one of us will go under So, when the drums sound, let everybody answer Do not say, “I am an irokeâ€, when the forest is burning Do not say, “I am an obecheâ€, when the forest is burning Our differences will not prevent us from perishing together So, when the drums sound, let everybody answer By Dike Chukwumerije "......Distinguishing TRUTH from falsehood" 'Change your words into truth And then change that truth into LOVE, And maybe our children's grandchildren , And their great-grandchildren will tell.' |
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