Ibadan,
running splash of rust
and gold — flung and scattered
among the seven hills like broken
china in the sun. (J.P. Clark)
Ibadan,
Clark’s description
is not engraved on stone,
unchangeable;
for from the pictures I see of you
you will transcend the ephemeral broken china that you are
to become the China of the new world
springing forth, sprouting, blossoming:
birthing a new Nigeria,
another newfound land going beyond the motions of becoming
Ibadan,
city of ancient warriors and history-making scholars
bestriding the altars of the living and the dead
Soyinka, Achebe and Irele drank deep from
the recesses of your soul,
then took their place among the best in the world
showcasing the beauty that describes the nipple of your soul
that same soul that has produced the best in all fields,
the best in all generations
Ibadan,
though a certain sludge of mismanagement
now smudges the brightness of your beauty
and we now behold muted snatches of a glorious future
I still believe you will cross the thresholds of uncertainty
into the glorious light of dawn nine years hence
for two decades after the new millennium
is more than enough for the decision-makers
to steer you on the wings of success
Ibadan:
ordered mass of silver
and gold- carefully arranged
in the midst of five states like a
beacon in the west….
I like! I though it would have been Ode to Ibadan. Good but expression ‘nipple of… Soul’ did not creat any picture in my mind. Ok i will have to go through it again.
I’ve not read a lot of poems dedicated to Nigerian cities before, this is nice.
And you also mention Clark just like @sambrightomo did in Birth of a poet. The poor man must be sneezing now. :)
Nice poem, writing about a place takes a lot, the writers has to have that connection that the reader feels and I think I did
Yeah, this is very good.
I like.
Thanks y’all. I just felt Clark’s description deserved a reply. I have had to teach that poem as it is, to some secondary school students in the past…
WOW! This is amazing! You sabi, you know be like us wey dey write poems with complexity.I definitely recommend this!
Clap!!! Clap!!!! Clap!!!!!!
This is a masterpiece; The concept, the telling, the descriptions, the expression of faith…Wow!!!!
Keep improving you art. You would go places!
On a personal level, it is wonderful that you replied my best Nigerian poem with a masterpiece.
Sambright: thanks, thanks, thanks. A couple of months in Ibadan was enough to birth it. You recommend it? To who?
This is the writing of a true poet. You did well jare. It’s been a while since I read a poem that evoked deep thought in me.
This is cooool. I like the poem, write more.
Good.