Patience is a virtue
But in you priest
It dons the garb of a vice
You bid your time
Like an ancient Nubian curse
Buried in the bowels
Of Pharaoh’s pyramid
Waiting to unleash its wrath
On the curiosity of civilization.
Through the raffia curtain
of your shrine
You spied on our naivety
Lest we beheld
The evil that lurked
In your eyes.
Yes, fools we were
When ants we chased
From the altar
And assigned the vulture
To guard our sacrifice
To the gods
Why do you hide
Behind the raffia?
Why betray your
Sparse intellect?
Did not the bard say
there is no art
To know the mind’s construction
on the face?
So, why do you
Mock our foolishness
With the perfidy
Of your ignorance of literature
Words are sparse
In your mouth
Like water in a desert
And when you do utter them
They come with
as much substance
as the shimmer
Of a mirage
Reticence is the handmaiden
Of wisdom
Silence is but
The best answer
To a fool’s question
But between you and me
We know your silence
Is but the guilt
Of the rogue-priest
Who pilfered from
The altar
Whilst the faithful
Worshipped.
Voices of dissent
Are but demons
That must be exorcised
With whips and scorpions
The heretic is the fool
Who dares challenge
The will of the gods
And their green-garbed priest
In the gilded shrine
Beneath the rocks
sycophancy is the elixir
Of dying gods
With clay feet
The drumbeat of praise-singers
Is symphony
To the wax-clogged ears
Of their priest
A rich soil
Begets a good harvest
A good rainfall
Begets swollen rivers and streams
But what does
A faithful priest beget?
Aye! Another tin god
With clay feet!
Roll out the drums
And make merry
To the shrine
Beneath the rocks
We must proceed
The people have spoken
And the voice of the people
Is the voice of the gods!
(inspired by the song “The Pretender” by Jackson Browne)
Hmmmmm. I like this.
me 2. u re talking abt dem false priest bah?
no. its adem politicians. jst saw the tags
Awesome!
This is a classic.
Addresses both faith and politics
Good one
You are a good poet…and this poem is nothing short of awesome!..Well done
This is real nice, as always!
All inspired by songs.
Okay na.
lol! @Seun, I can’t help it.
This is nice but i wondered, are you talking about the christian priest or the pagan? cos i see words like ‘altar’ (do pagan shrines and worship have altars?) and then i see ‘rapphia’ which is spot on for the pagan worshipers.
i like stuff that makes me think, i like this.
It’s exciting the way this poems addresses both faith of all types and politics. You have done very well as usual, @esosa
wow!! this is good
I like d tone of d poem…well written
Thanks all for your kind words.
This poem was written during the infamous Daniel Kanu-led Youths Earnestly Ask for Abacha charade in 1998.
So, it is really about Nigerian politics but if readers see religious connotations in it, i guess it is all good.
I have always believed an artist’s duty is to present his work and the reader’s duty is to appreciate same and take from it that which they perceive in the work.
Again guys, thanks for your kind words.
Nice lines… I like this…
This, is a 10.
Wow!This poem is simply it…rife with words dat paints images…rituals,worship,deceit,people everything!You sabi this thing well,well!more power to your muscle!