Posted by Chris Onyema on
Ekine,
do you still remember
The
days in Oguta, by the lake daisy,
When
humus rose to meet our noses?
When
butterflies fluttered flowered wings
And
cherished green romance,
Flowing
from nectar to nectar?
Then,
the clear Sagbama sky
Came down and danced
On
the liquid floor
Of
the deep blue lake,
Flowing
in watery steps
That
the waves built.
Rails
of decorative foliage
Tangled
along its green walls
Of
impenetrable groove,
Hedged by huge tropical trees
And enormous trunks.
Then
fingerlings teased kingfishers
Neighboring the winging waves of butterflies,
Slices of winged chubby cherubs
That fanned the tangled green lush.
By
the point where Ogbuide and Urashi meet,
The
mudflat whispered freely to the crab,
And
the water snail trading in things
Unknown
recoiled, shy,
Relishing
every thin thing
Over
there, the edible periwinkle
Glided
from mud to mud
And
hissed in the sweet bluff,
The
taunting bluff of a coy lover,
Toying
with creek emotions.
Do
you still remember?
How
we rehearsed the permission verse
That
hopeful children knew
Over
meals-in-waiting?
Together
we sang to the faithful
Thatch
for lunch permission:
Mother
farming,
Father
fishing,
Tekena
singing
Ekine
singing,
For thatch
time to set:
Is it
lunch time yet?
Then, the sweet cool breeze caressing
The hallowed scape petted the strands
Of willing thatch and both waved approval.
Then we throttled
From peace scape to peace scape,
Then we flitted
From fish shore to fish shore,
And savored the hallowed
Frangipani of the wetlands.
That was a swam ago…Ekine,
When oil was not crude
When the
delta calm palm greased our lives and rubbed in oily vision
When we were not hounded like hunts in harmattan
harm
When we were not elfed, agipped and mobilled;
Chevroned and toally shelled to
By crude companies living up to their names
My Brother, this swamp after shells….
We tread cautiously on the many pipelines of
pressure,
Flown in federal feats everywhere, numerous,
Like fireflies of flare furrowing poverty in Patani…
We must tread cautiously for we are very
responsible.
If anything goes wrong, Ekine, Delta is responsible.
Government is irresponsible !