Adejoh's

tWeNtY and FoUR

2012-01-28T02:43:00.000-08:00

From birth,

heaven gave her word:

'His name shall be Momoh,

Momoh who in Aquarius born'

Judgement

that can only be gifted by heaven:

upon me the lord released,

making my life like a jewel shine

Then my father to me speaks:

'as you turn tWeNtY and FoUR

my favors well you'd enjoy

as with lavish and grace, i'd freely give'

To not too distant past I think,

remembering when life to me was ill.

.......... THE TAP HEAD

2012-01-12T03:19:00.000-08:00

At 9:00pm

the president on news came

I heard him say a slogan

‘save water: every drop matters’

I asked mother for a drink

and she said

'turn the tap head,

and pray that this time, water flows’

I look through window as I turn the tap head

and see water lavishly wasted

in fountains that never run dry

and sprinklers that wet green grass

I swear a tear escaped my eyes,

as I turned in disappointment from the tap.

sWEET sPACE

2011-12-01T00:48:00.000-08:00

A vow to myself I swear,

in immorality

would I not engage

for all the time I have left

But you,

my personal weakness:

it amazes me how

from closed to open I go at your sight

As I look in distance

and see you smile,

even more like slut I feel

when 'I love you' you say

Sadly, if truth be told,

You leave me in sweet space.... wanting more

FROM THE GALLERY

2011-09-24T05:03:00.001-07:00

With tears smart,
I watched from the gallery
as the straps grip
firmly held him in place.

Tears flowed from my eyes
just as they flowed
when dagger
to my fathers chest he drew.

My lover of me asks,
'how is it that your eyes tear?
when without thought,
he made you fatherless'

To sum it all, 1 + 1 =2,
what justice do I find in two deaths?

A friends DISEASE

2011-09-02T05:45:00.000-07:00

She waited for a stranger,
and fear took her mind;
a stranger who would curse
as from behind he penetrated her.

She waited prepared for a stranger:
for she knew
the pain and disease
his harm will bring to her.

Instead she saw a friend,
in secure arms she let her guard down.
he threw her to cold floor,
and did the strangers deed.

Now with a friends disease,
she forgives and tries to live right.

OUTSTRETCHED

2011-06-15T01:32:00.000-07:00

I saw your hands outstretched,

your palms open and warm:

In them you offered hope,

hope that your love will be lasting.

I heard you say,

'do not my advances refuse,

for with intentions fair,

I approach with a lovefilled heart'

Your mouth of words tired:

Those words that should have been calm,

but my troubles were even severer

for the poor bliss of your words to settle

My insecurities raged onwards:

your palm I refused, and my way I went.

UNCERTAINTY

2011-02-17T12:16:00.001-08:00

I fear wandering
For no matter where I tread
Every path
To the unknown leads

My quest for knowledge confuses me
Its as though
The more I insist on knowing
The less I learn

Ive sought freedom
But in my mind, the thought resounds:
‘Possibly before we are free
We should be fearful’’

My life revolves around uncertainty
Only the certainty of nothingness reassures….

nEW bEgGininGs....

2011-01-12T03:27:00.000-08:00

This year has been one with many begginings for me: I got featured in my very first print magazine, I started my first proper job, I started a retirement savings account, ..........

A liFE BY CHAnce

2010-10-05T09:35:00.000-07:00

From a father to his son was said

'Your life be by chance
for your existence to your parents
none but pain a thousand fold brings'

Of love... of mercy upon her heart
your mother with you a chance took.
But when with years you grow,
my own chance I shall take

In the rivers deep I shall cast you,
and with delight, hope by chance you drown'

wONDERING...

2010-08-10T08:10:00.000-07:00

Doth that man love God who would be willing to see
Christ in a crown of thorns
while for himself, he craves a crown of laurels?

Was Christ not ascended unto the throne by the cross,
should anyone messenger/ follower
expect to ascend his throne
on the shoulders of applauding crowds?

Weigh fast the cost,
if you do not will to bear Christs burden,
return to your labour and machinery,
be swift, hastily make profit

But let me whisper in your ears,
'What shall it profit a man
if he gains the whole world and loses his own dear soul?'

oF lEARNING... oF cHRIST

2010-07-06T15:55:00.002-07:00

Lately, my relationship with Christ has bothered me... Its not that I don't love Him as much as I used to, it's not that I don't feel His prescence as much as I used to, It's just that I realise I have become increasingly fearful: I've let that familiar fear creep in, I've let my friends point to my insecurities that I hardly see my accomplishments- and in all humility, I am a quite accomplished fellow, I've let rejection from friends/ loved ones form value judgement as to how I perceive myself...

I just saw a post on http://www.hajel.blogspot.com/ titled 'Bring It On' and it's inspired me: every one deserves to read it. I have resolved to start afresh with Christ: to look beyond my past woes and look to His truth that reassures/ refreshes me daily... I have resolved to rekindle my faith: faith in family, in my friends, in my relationships, in myself... I have resolved to embrace His adversities as long as they are His will... I have decided to let go of fighting my demons, cast them to Him for He says the battle is His and the victory is mine, I've resolved that I wouldn't shrink or hide my accomplishments just so others would feel better, for theres a saying: ' by letting your light shine, you give others permission to do the same...

tHIS pRESENT dARKNESS....

2010-07-03T03:14:00.001-07:00

Engulfing... Consuming

the darkness that from this news comes

robs me

of the option of grief

Swifty. Sadly

Everyday I face the same truth

Pain is like a thief in the night

Deep, quiet, persistent, unfair...

Puzzled. Illogical

How do I make sense of such a random act?

In my grief I realize,

death is sad and final...

To me it once was said

'To honour our lost loves, we must live our own lives well'

Tears

2010-06-27T11:21:00.000-07:00

hOW lOVELY fLORENCE mUST bE...

2010-06-15T13:13:00.000-07:00

By the Hudsons front she gazed,
faithfully, it's reflection gave back all her loveliness:
a queen in floral flawnessness, a sight that left me,
by the freshest summer greens,
green with envy....

aBIKu

2010-06-10T10:58:00.000-07:00

Wrote this a very long time ago, after I read Soyinka's version of Abiku.... Please leave your comments: they are the only things that keep me writing.

From me something was hid:
Looking up to a mother so fair
yet troubled in an effort to
from death rescue an accursed son.

Her hand she placed upon my skin,
feeling for a fever:
her solemn expressions,
she replaced with false smiles.

In her voice as sheep, she said
'Remember this moment,
when your mothers hand
heals every trouble of your soul'

'For me lessen the pain,
let me go, as with the next season, I'd return'

TRAGEDY LOOMS

2010-03-18T04:52:00.000-07:00

Tapping. Rapping. Knocking.
My heart from all doom carefully is guarded
But as time gleefully by me passes
Tragedy in looming maturity engages

That fear so familiar,
Its memory upon my heart is engraved
I remember surely, if I be not in God’s mercies,
Impending gloom be my portion

Shouldn’t all woes by me fade?
As in my loneliest hours,
My knees from prayer never sored,
And as I prayed, my eyes of tears dried.

Its legend HIS son for my bliss was killed,
But how then do I know, for within me is doubt…

ARMY OF TWELVE

2010-03-07T11:05:00.000-08:00

Christ with HIS army of twelve,
carried forth their weapons,
and upon the futile earth
embarked on a journey of mysticism.

For mere men as I,
A sinful hand from my path they wiped,
Promising that if I just believe,
All heavens glory will upon me be revealed.

A huge difference to my life it made:
Accepting him not only as man born of woman,
But as the Almighty’s beloved son,
Who reconciles all men to the kingdom of the Father.

It’s HIS promises that keep me going,
For as I be in HIM, so would HE be in me.

Twenty And Two

2010-02-22T07:21:00.001-08:00

It was my birthday on the 12th of February, I wrote a poem that day: I could lie that it was one of the best days I have had in a long while, but it wasn't: It wasn't even a relatively good day, factly speaking, it was one of the worst day's I've had in a long while....It rained that day though, I enjoyed the smell of dust freshly beaten by rain..... Please enjoy the poem, and leave comments.

How swiftly time flies
on its wings: twenty and two years:
Too soon has my time been spent,
and closer to manhood I advance.

It was mid time of day
when my pitied beauty to me said,
'all others besides you
have with age grown'

I do not remember when it all
stopped making sense:
as maturity that with age should come
has not by my path passed

It should be a good thing that I age,
but for the fear the swift years pass me by...

I BECOME A POET

2010-02-14T10:54:00.000-08:00

Trust me; I have met poets! I may even be one?
He is a dangerous person to disagree with, I once tried?

He feeds his ego with well meaning words:
What defense do you stand against him with?
He writes for the sake of "self-expression"

You don’t know he’s selfish?
His manner of communication isn’t wholesome or edifying;
He conveys little sense in blown out vocabulary

The greatest one of them; Shakespeare,
Never has a man turned so little knowledge to such great account, as in his case
His mind was so fine; no idea could violate it, but death struck.

‘Death conquers all things’

My Birthday...Youth Service...POP...Poetry...Allen...

2010-02-13T09:43:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted anything in a while... maybe not a while, that would be a huge understatement, maybe like a year or something... I have been growing, maturing in ways I never thought I would, I have been socialising: over the time span between my last post and now, I have met some of the most intelligent, exciting, professional people whose influence would continue to provide some sort of guidiance.

I started my National Youth Service, and just recently concluded it. I started my first paid job, and recently completed its course. I became a leader in my church, and up until recently, I was convinced it was the right thing to do.

Yesterday the 12th was my birthday: Abuja's first rain of the year fell on the same day... still trying to figure out if theres more to that than just rain, but I pray it means something good would come my way this year... The day before that, on the 11th, I had my passing out parade...

Have spent the last year working on a book of poetry: Its a collection of 60 English Sonnet styled poems. Read a really intresting poem on Seyes blog yesterday: seye.blogspot.com: Think the title is allen avenue or something, loved his incorporation of dialogue in the poem and its easy blend with all the conventional elements of modern poetry.

Its good to blog again, would be uploading poems from my newest book sometime soon.

fOR dEJI

2009-10-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

O ever worthy, ever crowned in praise.
Blest in thy ways and blest in thy life,
Add that your every thought be faultless as
God's line; thy body be holy, thy acts be
merciful.

Sin still with fiercer rage pursues; obscuring
the virture, defaming the muse.
A soul like thine, in pain, in grief resigns.

'the good lord you serve, never to harm shall bring you'

iDENTITY

2009-08-26T23:32:00.000-07:00

As hard as I try to forget, painfully I remember, as the night transcended to morning I was filled with thanks that my flesh was from the mosquito’s sting rescued.
My Step-mom had whipped up a bowl of rice stained brown by the twice as much beans it contained, gleefully, with my father I prayed over the food: those morning prayers mattered much to my father, for though he was a Christian, even I who was a Muslim practiced more of Christianity’s ideals: as he made us believe, he worshipped with the Grail land: the Grail land is a heavenly place: a wild expanse of land with beautiful colorful animals littering the expanse. I would blog on the Grail later, for now; my thoughts should not stray…

As we eat, I turned to him and asked the most innocent, honest question I remember asking all my young years,

‘How come you hate my mother so?’

This question should not at all sound to you strange, for once, he met my mum, she greeted and he very rudely ignored: for one who grew in a household were the man was absent and the woman combined his responsibilities with hers and easily shouldered them, his act was to me childish and somewhat stupid, irritating even...

For a long second, he dropped his spoon and sighed. Adjusting his ring

‘You know I can slap you with this ring and leave an impression upon your face…’ he asked, his voice low as though he were complimenting and not scolding.

‘… You weren’t there when I started to love your mum. Why should you now question me for hating her?’ By this time, he had raised his voice. I bet he could see me shaking: fear rattled my bones, more than ever before, I wished the concrete floor would mysteriously open and consume me

‘Sorry sir…’ I continued, but he also continued with a raised voice, I didn’t hear most of what he said for I was too scared to hear.

I continued ‘… I know you’re my father, you only wish the best for me…’

Then he shocked me. He was silent, and calmly said

‘You’re not my son’ Fear escaped me. I gained composure,

‘If it’s not you, then who is it?’ I asked, and then he truly shamed me, shamed his generation, his father and his fathers father .

‘Go ask your mother…’

he said looking away from me. Then my heart filled with hate… I wished I could drain every last drop of his blood from my veins… for me, this was a huge deal: for I cried and cried. My first impulse was to pack my bag and then call my mother. I imagined leaving his house, begging him to disown me. But for the intervention of my aunt Jummai, I would have cried till my eyes dried of tears…

All of this is past now, not knowing ones identity is unholy, scary, frightful beyond anything: I saw him as my father, but now I know better, with my salvation, I realize and remind myself daily that he’s only a guardian, my real father is up in heaven… the Lord God Almighty…

even now, I thank him for that day, for if he didn’t deny me and render me fatherless, I wouldn’t have sought my real father, my heavenly father… one who is not bound to me by just blood, but by love, by the spirit, by sacrifice, by mercy… One who despite my imperfections loves me perfectly. Life is exceedingly merrier with him as my father, for even as I mistake, he is faithful and just to forgive me. And as he forgives, he blesses me still.

I realize daily, we are sojourners on this Earth, bound to complete a journey whose destination is heaven. As my life I restored to Christ, I swore to leave earthly things for earthly men, as now I am a new man in Christ. A restored son. One blest beyond anything I can imagine or see.

hOW lOVELY fLORENCE mUST bE...

2009-08-13T23:37:00.000-07:00

By the Hudson's front she gazed,
faithfully, its reflection gave back all her loveliness:
a queen in floral flawlessness; a sight that left me
by the freshest Summer greens
green with envy....

EVEN CONSTANT

2009-07-25T05:01:00.000-07:00

Constantly my lover, remember there's a lover
up above whose love like time is constant.

Take a chance at love, even as with
chances in the past, much hurt you've endured.

Love me as best as you can,
for this lovers love is aflame. Even constant.

nO dEATH dAY aS iNTENSE

2009-06-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

No death day as intense, as that on
which a freeborn as I witnesses his
own death. Was it not I,
a willful soul who in death willfully engaged?

Did not I live rightfully/ steadfastly?
Treading the path of heavens one true
king: kneeling till my knees sored,
crying my eyes dry.

As today I die: die from all that since
birth was to me good.
Resigned. Ill fated: I stray into all
the world considers doom.

I am a land rusted with corruption:
what must happen… must happen.