(Poetry) Obasinjom Warrior (For Bate Besong)

 By Dzekashu MacViban

Votre sicèle, dit-on, était trop jeune pour te lire. (Alfred de Musset)

Two-legged brain, transcendental transcriber
Contiguous of earth, monsieur
In the lions’ den — the Tiger
Imposed its revelator-role, soared
And saw what lies beneath. You
Embraced the tiger, yielded substance—
Rooted in your dream,
Taproot in bedrock, fault line and all.
You spun gray webs for tomorrow’s seeds
Now you tread the earth of Okigbo

Riverain, cosmic-built, out of time…
Spiral sights of sage hood, mystery.
Presences unfathomable.

You still wage battle

Lone conqueror, back heaped with destiny
Interrelated cultural odyssey.
His trenchant tongue of fire, precursor.
How shall I sing, O Ebibirman?

You pulled down the curtain
Exposing psycho and sycophancy of useless harlequins
(time and again, they tried to mend
their sand foundations…)

Now, compatriot, uncertainties caress
As I am drawn to the labyrinths of my being,
My haven-home jerked to life.

Comments

[Nfor Edwin N.]

When these lines, I read, I am reminded of the great poet himself. He that writes this poem is not that different from the Iconoclast he praises. Some will say it is obscurantist like our BB's, but if you can't decipher this then you need to check into Macviban's life and influences. If you still can't grasp it then Alfred de Musset must've had you in mind when he states that a certain century was judged too young to understand a certain writer's writings.

[lydie]

i envy the way u play with words.how can i be more like u? seroisly.
let me just say this:i'm proud to say that i hang out wit this guy and won't need to scramble for autographs from him when the time comes.