I SHALL FIND THEM WHEN LONELY...

When solitude comes my way

Drooping my eyes like wings of bird in snow,
The earth grows noisier in memory
The shadows remind of the light behind
Waves meet and roll away together
And we depart when the seagulls fly off
I gave away my heart for all as waterfall
All water enough for the thirsty
I long for them lost at night not seen in day.

They are beautiful like summer flowers
Though time makes me an autumn leaf to fall
Still
I behold a bird in the grey stretches of sky
Flying with wings outspread
Plays upon the strings of the lonely heart
In a song sweet as prayer from the soul.
The tiny bud opens up the flower
I have been waiting long for its fragrance
Though lonely hanging in the bough
Looks as beautiful as a bride on wedding day.

The river rushes alone over the pebbles
Creating the murmur sweet to hear,
I look at the lonely moon too sincere
Never stopping journey in her silent ways,
I keep moving on in ease
The roads are too long and the sky is vast
I shall find them gathered when lonely.

Composed and copyright by 

Rajendra Padhi

Published on https://web.facebook.com/groups/poetryrepublic

Over and over again

Over and over again
Hit after hit
Bash after bash

But it is safe here
Safest I ever feel
Alone
In silence

Repetitive insults
Replaying failure after failure
Paperless list of disappointments

Despair
Pity
Numb

Speak up!
Louder!!
They can't hear you!!!
To late...

Over and over again
Hit after hit
Bash after bash

By:

Tenesia Marlow on web.facebook.com/groups/poetryrepublic/

EKUASE AND OVBIEBO

'Ekuase my dear son, we will live to remember your story. 

If you ever experience reincarnation, your life will never be

cut short due to the antics of the female folks.'

He was a young promising prince of the great Bini kingdom. Handsome as can be. Full of life and vigour. He lived in the 18th century and his story occurred in the period during the British occupation of our empire shortly after Oba Ovoramwen n'ogbaisi was taken away on exile to Calabar.

A very successful young man, he naturally was the toast of the young women of his days.
He was legally married to two women. His household experienced enormous peace due to the attention and love he showered on them. Along the line however, he fell in love with a white woman and this experience was to change his life forever.

The white woman loved everything about Ekuase including the women of his household. She looked forward to becoming his third wife. In return she was fully welcome and accepted. But Ekuase acted foolishly as he withdrew attention from everyone else and focused only on 'ovbiebo'
He practically eloped with his new found love and neglected all responsibilities to his immediate family. This drew the ire of the women and they resorted to seeking the help of a native doctor on how they can get back their husband's attention. 

The native doctor asked them for three items viz: a soap, a dog and a honey bee. The charm incorporated these three items to symbolize grudge, violence and quarrelsomeness. This was an attempt to break the bond between Ekuase and his new found love engaging the elements of quarrel and violence. The charm was to be applied in his meal on one of the rare occasions that he visited.

Probably the dosage of charm recommended was not strictly adhered to by the agitated women. This may have been the reason that Ekuase turned against the love of his life with a ferocious anger and beheaded her. EKUASE MURDERED ' OVBIEBO' UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE CHARM.

His senses then came back to him. He turned himself in to the authority. Unfortunately he was made to pay for his crime

This is the story of Ekuase the handsome prince of Bini.

By:

Kennedy Oriakhi

https://www.facebook.com/kennedy.oriakhi.3/posts/10152308706891193

Edayiniken n'uselu

Uzama n'ihirion is a group of hereditary chiefs in the Benin Kingdom that was during the reign of Oba Ewedo in the 13th century. They were six in number originally. But in the 15th century during the reign of Oba Ewuare n'ogidigan they became seven in number. The seventh chief that was added to that original six is called Edayiniken n'uselu which corrupted to Edaiken n' uselu the heir apparent to the  throne.

Iken was an ancient warrior and the Duke of Uselu province. He was fabled to be the great warrior who knew all the skills of battle except how to beat a retreat. He was successful in all his battle campaign including the very last one that claimed his life. Oba Ewuare sent him on that expedition. Instead of coming straight back home after his victory, he tarried still in the land he had conquered at the persuasion of a young beautiful woman he met at the battle  front. News reached Benin that Iken had executed his mission successfully. A welcome party was being organized for his  arrival. But Iken was destined never to return to his Dukedom. There were whispers in some quarters that the Palace had ensured by some supernatural means that the great never returned home alive. His prowess was rumoured to be winning fear and admiration amongst the people of Benin to an extent that some had started mentioning him in the same breath as Ewuare n' ogidigan the greatest Oba Benin ever had.

As the wait for Iken became endless,the Oba decided that the heir apparent should be sent to Uselu to hold brief before Iken comes back from battle. The word Edayiniken means go and hold brief for Iken. If today Iken shows up, there will be no question as to who the real occupant of Uselu palace is.

Owi iken no guokwuo, no ma g'ule(2x)
Ogw'kwuo n'omag'ule
En'okwuo y'arie

The Crown Prince performed the Isoton rites on June 4th as part of the Burial rite of the Late Monarch.

Edaiken gha to kpere

 By

Kennedy Oriakhi

UNIBEN END OF SEMESTER EXAMINATION

INSTRUCTION: Answer all questions
**NO CHEATING, SIDE TALKING, GIRAFFE-ING, GOOGLING, YAHOO-ING etc.

1. Who was Nigeria's first wheel barrow pusher?

2. Who was the first indigenous woman to fry Akara and Yam?

3. What is the full name of the first Nigerian tout (Agbero)?

4a. How much in total did Anini steal during his lifetime as an armed robber?
b. How much did he give to the masses?
c. How much did he give to his mother?

5. Who was the first child to trek to school?

6a. Where was the first indigenous madman/ madwoman from?
b. What was his/her name?

7a. What is the full meaning of the acronym SUYA?
b. Who invented it?
c. Who was the first customer to buy it?

8a. Who was the first woman to spend the N1000 note?
b. Where?
c. When?
d. What did she buy?

9. As at April 2013, how many mosquitoes were in Aso Rock? (give your answer in binary form)

10.a. Who was the first Nigerian to drink Garri without Sugar?
b. Who was the first Nigerian to drink Garri with sugar?

GOODLUCK!!

Pray Well

One day, Ben went to church to pray.
God appeared and asked "Ben what do you wish for"?
Ben replied "God, please I want to drive a big car with
plenty of girls in it"
God exclaimed. "Amen, may your wish be done"
Currently, Ben is now a bus driver at Baptist Girls High School.

😜😜😃😄😀
Lesson: 

Pray well... be specific and clearly communicate your wishes!

By:

Prince Brown Onwukwe

God Bless You, Son

5 year old son.....after reading story of a king.....

Son: Mom, I also want 4 wives.....one will cook, one will sing, one will bathe me.......

Mom: And one will put you to sleep....

Son: No mom, i will still sleep with you

Mom's eyes filled up with tears ... God bless you son

Mom: but who will sleep with your 4 wives

Son: Let them sleep with daddy

Daddy's eyes filled up with tears... God bless you son ! 

By:

Prince Brown Onwukwe

NO SHORT CUTS

I know a little about my people and a little about the various categories of mental disorders. That includes their classical signs and symptoms. 

My grandmother use to say sweep the floor before you lay the mat. Often times myself and my fellow young rascals will do the opposite either because we think Grandma is exaggerating about the poisonous ants or because we are obviously too lazy to comply. All of a sudden each of us receive multiple bites that makes our nights quite `eventful`.

My concern is that we just refused to learn from a singular episode. It happens over and over again. Shamelessly we cry in the same manner that we did yesterday. We now begin to analyze the dimensions and components of our pains. We start to wish that there are pharmaceutical remedies to annul or neutralize the effects of the ant poison. This is the part that hurts me most. You never hear us take responsibilities for our actions. We never wish we had done it differently. We never break from our unproductive and injurious routines. We expect others to do so on our behalf. We attack those who are bold enough to draw our attention to these things. Yet we expect a better future.

What could be responsible for this? What are the underlying factors that could have given rise to such scenarios? That is another subject that will require deep analysis. But I do appreciate that these mode of behaviors can be linked to what obtains in cases of mental disorders.

Lack of insight, delusions. hallucinations. aggressive behavior, paranoia, excessive talking etc.

I thank the FG for the price hike in PMS. My only quarrel is that it should have happened much earlier, lets say in December 2015.  It was a difficult decision to make but the best eventually. I feel the pains like every other Nigerian. But I am not one to analyze my pains on the very day I am bitten by the ant. I will not display my passion for talkativeness on the day of the incident because I already knew what will come. 

We are all going on a ride into our future. Nigeria will triumph eventually. But let us not deceive ourselves. Hard times will persist for a while. We must travel this route. No short cut.

By

Kennedy Oriakhi

THE STUDENT OF SUCESS

The struggle between our dreams and fears

Lures us to snap rope-ends

We are drawn beyond endurance

And device strengths to hold on wishes

And splurge to life the flames of hope

We fumble with the keys to the holes on Success' door

And rake a cackling finger off its pane

Vainly slugging off the slippery floors.

Yet we lack the mind to train a key

Through its waiting misty hole.

The road to success brings us off the brick

Of future-seeking to the true lane

Of value-adding. For in truth success meets us

Where we hold still and better share values.

The path through freedom is the path through values.

A brightened pinnacle of living dreams

Emblazoned when all facts held true in a mind,

Convinces us there is strength to try another day

We know not how close to the sought diamonds we have dug

Finally bowing to seek another strand,

We send a failed shot at a timed goal.

Only when a man veers forever near

To his dreams, killing the teeming fears,

Brandishing his mind as guide,

Can a student of success be born;

Can success be born.

APRIL’S COLD

The Heavens cried ceaselessly and bled

Drenching the windows panes in fumes

As cold clutched its fist

On my clattering ribs

The first pond visit of Heaven’s wet blessings

Bathed all hidden chronicles

Of a dry ground

In the late hours of April

In the willow of a cold embrace

I fondle and clutch my spread

Seeking all warm crevices

To stave  the reaching claws

of another cold night

I am myself abandoned

To the quest of seeking warmth

All else a waiting matter

As the beginning of a long haul Enters.

MAN’S GREATEST GIFT

Man was created with certain gifts. When in the depth of loss, despair and pains, man’s gift cry out to the tacit but listening universal forces to make a way for him. Always relying unknowingly on these gifts, we find ourselves soaring out of the clutches of damnation and undesirable circumstances. Many are led to believe it was their own handiwork they got saved, yet something, anything could have gone amiss to keep man in the same despair state.

Man’s greatest tool is not in his physical or mental strength nor will—indeed to survive, a man must be true to his purpose. Yet purpose trueness fall short of the creative inheritance of man.

Man’s greatest gift Is not in his handsomeness or manliness. Fairness may pave some way but ultimately fail where astute change is required. Today, situations respond more to your mental abilities than even fairness or beauty.

Man’s greatest gift is the small conceited towel in his mouth, capable of causing an unending strife or a forever peace between nations, of breaking or mending mortal souls, of painting a new world and bringing it to being.

Physically, a man can through words spinning from his lips orchestrate new ideas. In fact, not a brick was ever laid on another without it being thought out and communicated through words written or spoken).

Spiritually, man, like God, is endowed with creative ability vested in his words. Your words spin your will and can cause tremendous changes in your life. Anything can be caused to be if you learn how to harness the power in your tongue.

For starters,

• Never use your words idly. This is a clear indication of your emptiness. Constructively engage your words to work for you.
• Learn never to curse but bless. Trust me, the measure of words you use on others, the same will invariably reflect in your own reality.
• Always be positive. Always speak positively.
• Learn about God. He made you just like Him. Ever heard of the Bible?

BUILDING THE NATION

The plundering spades

Our leaders wield to shovel us dry

Leaves gullied holes in our purse

And an undying scar in our bled economy

Today, you come again to ask a ransom

From our broken arms

You ask us to provide you with a new toy

For the sit-and-talk job you laboriously manage

—we would be dead without you to sieve us dry, you know.

I remember when, like a thief

You came begging as for alms, for mercy

That we give you the chance to right the wrongs

Your ancestors plagued us with,

Our other option a shade worse than you.

You talk of an elaborate rescue

For homeless us, roaming a blessed nation,

Yet all you rescue is our gold

To jingle in your purse.

You have come again, each of you

To make our wounds fester with debt bonds

You scrub our naked pains with Vinegar

And wait in askance for who dares scare you

In your tedious efforts of Nation Building.

WHEN HEART SINGS...

When I forget mine melt like mist in sun

It is afterglow of light I learn to be a part of it,
Born after sunset in solitude of darkness
Survived at night with my wintry self
Merging with light of day I learn nothing is mine.

Whirling and wheeling in sky like a crane
Return like an arrow to ground after a flight
A simple truth strikes I am nothing without others
Each one of us is strings of a guitar
Playing music of life sweet to hear in all ears.

Rain of dark-clouds is rainbow kissed by light
How may I sing for those little children
Growing great in strife I hold them dear to heart!
Every rose is born with a thorn
The moon spreads light in sky and earth
Though there is a dark spot in its silvery bosom.

I set me as a newborn child that has no name
Grow in the love of others to be called only human
How is that a poor asks a coin knowing not our name!
The waves of a river go on watering the side plants
Bursting in flowers and fruits for others.

The sun goes down to west but the east remains
Our good deeds win back immortality
The blueness of the lake never fades away at night
A little lamp can show us light in our dark paths
Valuable than those great stars in the sky.

Composed and copyright by Rajendra K. padhi

POLICE CATCH THIEF

A.    AMERICA POLICE STYLE:

Allow the thief to finish stealing, then they use sophisticated gadgets to catch thief.

B.    CHINESE POLICE STYLE:

Chase the thief until he becomes tired then catch him.

C.     ARABIAN POLICE STYLE:

Kidnap the thief's wife and then threaten the thief to surrender.

D.    INDIAN POLICE STYLE:

Sing for the thief until he comes close to the trap, then catch him.

E.    NIGERIAN POLICE STYLE:

Catch any person on the street, beat him until he agrees that he's a thief.....

TRUE or FALSE

BY:
Tracy Chapele

IS THERE ANYONE WHO WANTS THIS WEDDING NOT TO HOLD? SPEAK UP NOW OR...

At a wedding ceremony, the officiating minister asked if there was any one who had anything to say as regards the union of the two;

Hell broke loose when a woman at the back with a child

A Nation For All

Love your nation; do not turn the love you have into war.
Each is unique and each has a rainbow of diversions.
Let us not be jealous; together we must soar.
Around the same table, we must make the conversion.

When the masses are hungry, the rich won’t sleep,
Only of the same mind can a change be made.
Plant the seeds, together into the dirt we dig.
Watch the love appear and the war fade.

Hold hands and smile to the future.
Together, build a nation without the tears.
Forget the differences and stand as one.
Make the past’s dealings done.
Make a new nation; a nation for all.
Never again let our differences make us fall.

By:

- Alexander C. E. Otakpor & Ansie Ehrke 

Strength of the Young

Oh young, watch your strength
For like the hourglass,
The sand thins to end.

Watch, young, watch the tides
To stave a broken tomorrow
With timely strides on a mended boat.

Watch while alone,
So for your lineage atone
Ere company spring to share your strength.

Watch, m young man and while you watch
Employ your youth to tomorrow's ventures
An un-invested strength is in Time's passage forfeited.

THE ROAD

There is a lovely road

That runs through the canals of our veins

That connects our destines and inheritances

That defines our place and carve us  a spot.

This road we trod

With naked feet

Turned to the scorn

Of our bequeathed fate.

On this road, our walk has been laboured

With the drowning songs

Of broken promises

Our elders sing at intersections.

Our feet are etched

With painful memories

Of loss, decay and death.

The blocks splayed on our path that stumbles us.

We walk up to a new scorn gore

Reminder of the last failed promise—

Sonorously rendered earlier,

From the lips of our elated elder.

THE CRUX

Drawn to the crux
Through naked roads
Stained with the dying scents
Of withered dreams

I am fixed between two worlds
Heaving a deafening sigh
From the burdened old
To the stark new

The freshly scent of an allamanda
Lures me freely to the ripe grounds
Of my stoney backyard
A yard stuffed with the shame of my clan

I am drawn to traverse this alluring dream
With only a beaten compass as guide
Will you lift your lamp
To aid my leap to drier deck?

I carry with me this thin olive
Wearily feeding on the scanted hearth
Will you lift a finger to heave us ashore,
And haste my olive sprung and oil our land?

I am left at the crux
Where even Hope dare not speak
Here, you cling only to the heaves of your chest
And trust a lost eye's guidance
Through Fate's gates to splendour
Or nothingness.

METAMORPHOSIS

I don’t know 

How I become the blue ripples
Vanishing in the shore!
I don’t know
How I am the flower
Fading at twilight!
I don’t know
How I become the flame of a candle
Dying in a puff of wind!
I don’t know
How I become the sound of rain
To be Lost behind a valley!

I don’t know
How I am born of sprouts
Growing green again
Go on flowing as waves to shore
Becoming light of a candle
Indifferent of darkness
I died yesterday
And living today again
Just the sun has come for me
And the moon dancing at my door
I don’t know
How life changes at finger-end!

Composed and copy right by Rajendra k. padhi