We Cry For Peace Read online



  We Cry For PEACE

  Abegunde Sunday Olaoluwa

  Speaking Pen International Anthology

 

  We Cry For Peace

  By Abegunde Sunday Olaoluwa

  Copyright © 2014 Abegunde Sunday Olaoluwa

 

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

  Special thanks to all poets who submitted their poems conforming to our given guidelines.

  Thanks to Lennee Reid and Bayo Faris who did gave professional advice to ensure the cover design comes out good.

  Thanks to the cooperativeness of the members of S.P.I.C Team who also worked tirelessly in sorting, organizing, and editing of the accepted submissions for this anthology.

  DEDICATION

  This book is dedicated to:

  The Peace of Peace,

  By whose grace

  Peace would

  Gain place in

  Our lives and lands.

  PROLOGUE

  Here are poetic soldiers

  That use the pen as missile

  Weapon mightier than swords

  To fight injustice and lies!

  To fight anti-peace religions

  With the swords of words

  Inspired by The Word, our Lord

  Standing against all odds

  That threaten the world

  In no fright of speaking right.

  Abegunde Sunday Olaoluwa

  Editor-in-Chief/ CEO

  Speaking Pen International Concept

  SWORDS OF WORDS

  We create

  We shape

  We mould

  A cosmos of star-lustred concepts with words

  God-hallowed words

  Sage-made words

  Adam-ancient words

  Sermon-mounting words

  We write

  We inspect

  We dissect

  Exposing our love-housing hearts

  Exposing our world-impaired spirits

  We infuse each page with words

  Passion-inclined words

  Birth-painful words

  War-morbid words

  Rainbow-garnished words

  The serum, language

  Flows from our veins

  Words are forces

  Possessing an artery

  To assault or soothe

  We're poets

  Throughout our souls

  Throughout our limbs

  We feel our poems

  By: Bob McNeil

  WE CRY FOR PEACE

  by Alowo Paul Olaniyi

  From our eyes

  Is the formation of dark clouds

  Vision dim and all is obscure

  What we catch glimpse of is thunderbolts

  Rain of tears ceaselessly flow across our chin

  Peace is a diadem

  Just like a maiden

  She needs attention

  And some protection

  So that procreation

  Won't suffer deprivation

  Nor any form of intimidation

  Tranquillity is the face of peace

  A ripple within causes disquiet

  Trampled upon to pieces

  A scion of love cajoled and smite

  All for our unkempt behaviour

  A mask we carry as demeanour

  Let's give peace a chance

  So all can delightfully dance

  Rather than sarcastically prance

  Around like ghost in a trance

  We cry for peace in all races

  Love is all we need on people's faces

  What shall be the fruit of our labour

  If hatred lurks within our heart toward our neighbour?

  If we can cry for peace

  There will be no hidden fear

  Thoughts shall travel beyond hemisphere

  To the fount of peace, flowing with ease

  You don't have to sail to Greece

  Hand in hand

  Heart by heart

  We shall together conquer disharmony

  And form a great web to celebrate serenity

  Then mortals shall toil with pleasure

  Evergreen shall always be our pasture

  For tranquillity is our eternal sunshine

  Amusement shall ceaselessly beam from the sky!

  A collaboration between Paul Alowo

  and Jon Manuels Enekele

  THE DEAF CALLED VIOLENCE

  by Abegunde Sunday O.

  Mourning in our land every crack of dawn

  For news of bodies bombs broke to pieces

  Violence claws grasps on our nation’s peace

  Sighs for peace by masses ignored

  O motherland O compatriots

  Hearken to the tears of peace for rescue

  Before cruelty pierce his sword

  Through tender heart of peace he’d abducted

  We whimper for peace

  We long for nations

  Free of terrorists menaces

  For lack of religious tolerance

  Let not our doom rejoice

  For from the decibel of our voices

  Is not just a high cry to our un-selfless leaders

  But to God of Israel, our Father

  Pray O pray

  For Jerusalem’s peace

  Let not the nations cease to say

  It is well and better it would be

  GIVE PEACE ANOTHER CHANCE

  by Taslima Rahman

  White pigeon the symbol of peace

  Is wounded now,

  Crying with low voice

  With broken wing

  A song has remained unsung!

  Inhumane people trying to cage her

  So that she can’t fly,

  And can’t take the slogan of peace

  One country to another country.

  Power has been centralized

  In some demons hand,

  Want to bring down the hell

  In earth,

  In the wicked cycle of poverty

  The peace has lost its path,

  For the lack of education and food

  There is no peace in neighbourhood,

  I hear the long sigh of jobless

  And hungry people,

  Why the world overlook and

  Can’t listen to the sound!

  Superstition and social instability has ruined

  The rest of the peace,

  Peace is helpless because the

  Oppression of the women, smuggling

  Couldn’t be stopped,

  Terrorism, drugs, slaughtering of human,

  Dirty politics is determined to kill the peace,

  General people are crying for peace

  This is all they ever needed,

  Please! Give peace another chance.

  THE HAWKS

  by Abdulsalam Jamiu B.

  #BringBackOurGirls

  From the crypt of our lonely rocks,

  In bulks comes these terror hawks.

  Here and there they are

  Not so high

  In our smiling noon sky, there they fly.

  Their eyes, a gloomy glow of horror;

  Pointed at our lasses

  Is their crooked fingers and claws.

  Right before our aghast eyes,

  They clang and sunk their claws

  And rouge fingers

  Into the shivery shoulders of our GIRLS

  Off to their bloodcurdling cave,

  They hurriedly wave.

  Ye ehhhh!!!

  E gba wa ooo!

  Abike oo Anike oooo Ashake ooo

  Our daughters ooooo

  Mamas deserting their wrappers

  Flinging their entire body

  On the surface of
the sod

  With their swarthy ties

  Flapping in the mud.

  Papas, with a daze in their gaze

  Up and down, they blankly pace

  With their caps flying in the swirling wind.

  Tears of blood

  Rolling down our cheeks

  As we bend on our knees

  Holding our bleeding chest

  Vomiting our wounded hearts.

  Those fragile creatures are

  Our future treasures

  Oh! Our virgin Marias

  Fastened around their waists like beads

  Is the seeds of cowries;

  Our dowry...

  In their innocent wombs is the tube

  Of the defenceless embryos

  Of our future queens, emperors and kings.

  Bring back our girls, bring back those jewels;

  A lament song

  In the tongues of our caged birds

  Our Caesars,

  Gather your wounded wings, fly like a raven

  Into the profound of their cafe

  Bring home our girls, save

  For their virgin wombs is the pregnancy of our unborn future

  Slavery should not be an iron beads

  Fasten around the necks

  Of these future creatures,

  The emblems that will inherit

  Our image, our literature

  BOKO HARAM

  An Acrostic by Abegunde Sunday Olaoluwa

  Behold

  Our land

  Knocked

  Out of her peace

  How long

  Are we to snivel

  Ranting for action

  Against these

  Mad gun men?

  This is a poem written in the second half of April, 2014 dedicated to the 234 girls abducted in Nigeria on 14th April, 2014 from their school by the terrors to human realm called Boko Haram, a terrorist group

  NATIONAL PYTHON

  A Satire by Abegunde Sunday Olaoluwa

  #Bring Back Our Girls

  The python,

  Stole into our incubator

  Took over two hundred eggs

  Then crawls back to its evil cave

  With those eggs in its mouth.

  We beckon to the hunters'

  Wholehearted chasing

  Save our gems!

  The python,

  Noted it's been trailed

  Hurriedly left its hiding-cave

  For unknown bush of endless thorns

  Luckily the hunter found some

  Of the stolen gem eggs

  No cracks?

  Up hunters!

  Go farther faster!

  These eggs are too fragile

  For merciless fangs of vipers

  Mother hens, restlessly sleepless

  Everyone watching so helplessly

  As pain grips harmless eggs

  Somebody please help

  Hear their voice

  O Lord

  In the python's mouth

  Over two hundred lives hangs

  Pray they're rescued

  Pray they don't get swallowed

  Feel their gnashing in pain

  As blood gushing their body

  Some from python’s fang pierces

  Some from devilish python’s tails.

  I pray!

  We pray!

  Nigeria Pray!

  Lord, hear us today!

  Lord, please make a way!

  Help free them from this dismay!

  TRUCE

  by Benson David

  How I wonder

  O sleeping pen...

  Does ink-blood run cold?

  How I ponder

  At your slumber

  And quill's tufts' gone stiff

  Wake up!

  Wake up i say!

  Papyrus mourns

  Duchess Muse yawns

  And my poor soul... yearns

  Let's put aside

  Each other's wrong and pride

  For we do need us

  Come back!

  Come back i say!

  As family

  Let's find solace

  In each other's warmth

  WHEN PEACE FLOWS LIKE A RIVER

  By Ajise Vincent Olajide

  Freedom shall be rampant like a brand

  Truth shall lie on mortals heart band

  There shall be bans on storms of hell

  Cum Pestilence that with vigour swell

  Nature will sing songs of happiness

  For emotions to dance in gleefulness

  Dreams shall see the ray of reality

  And soothe hopes of all in amity

  Gory menstruum will no longer be

  Neither will hurt strive in glee

  Lo, no! earthling will diatribe another

  For indeed, love will be all banner

  WHEN PEACE BECOMES A RIVER

  By James Ademuyiwa

  Lullabies of victory will be ours

  While our eyelids wrap us overnight

  Sleeping on hays of lasting calmness

  As peace flow like a river at night

  Normality shall grace market places

  Children, sojourners; and worshipers

  Shall tread paths without hearty fret

  When peace be like river as our right

  Corruption shall board oblivion flight

  And wars become echoes of yesteryears

  To revamp posterity in us, all night

  When peace like a river for us flows

  LOVE IS INNATE

  by Amusat Usman Abiola

  What if we remain muted,

  With our mouth padlocked from words?

  Who will sound the voice of peace?

  What if we remain blind,

  With eyes impaired not in sight

  But in heart,

  Who will cry the tears for tranquil?

  Free the peace confined in thee,

  Let's set ablaze rags of hate,

  Let's embrace the Love innate.

  Let's lit the torch of peace in hands (together),

  May peace be etched in our hearts,

  In its brilliant spark.

  A WISH I WISH

  by Segun Adebiyi

  I wish these problems would end,

  I wish warring tribes could be best of friends.

  I wish for an end to inter-religious conflicts,

  I wish we could live, ignoring religious differences.

  I wish these KILLINGS would stop,

  I wish CORRUPTION, would stop.

  I wish our leaders can be like Abiola,

  I wish they will make peace like Mandela.

  I wish not to worry before doing the things I want

  I wish people won't meet me to ask WHAT?

  I wish to have the things I dream of, right at my finger tips

  I wish I could get anything, if I just said it.

  I wish parents won't worry to pay children’s fees

  I wish there would forever be peace.

  I wish the world could be, one united nation,

  I wish for the end of Racial Discrimination.

  I wish like brothers and sisters, we would love each other

  I wish like lovers, we could be there for each other

  I wish... Oh!

  I wish!

  WE ARE ONE IN THIS FIGHT

  by Iyeomoan, Emmanuel Ehizogie

  #BringBackOurGirls

  Let the green glowing bulb

  Send strange shinning sparkles

  From black veins and dark hides;

  Let thunderbolts send reprisals,

  Lighting our way through

  Bright shadows of the North

  Till we unmask our fears,

  Dressing

  The sores we bleed

  That breed on us.

  MY CRAVINGS

  by Iyeomoan, Emmanuel Ehizogie,

  I do not crave

  For mundane pom
p and power;

  ‘Cause in the grave,

  They are as sour

  As unripe grapes;

  And worthless to apes

  Like a banquet of flowers.

  I don't save

  For a pregnant 'morrow,

  Whose outcomes enclave

  The lasting sorrow

  Of short-lived joy...

  I wish to enjoy

  My today's gentle toils

  On rocky semi-fertile soils.

  I crave to die the death

  Of man in good health

  With an ink's flow wealth

  To change the psyche of earth:

  That black is blind,

  And white: better refined.

  I do not rave

  For worldly treasures,

  And all that pleasures

  A stubborn goat to early grave.

  I desire love- not in gold and silver,

  But in a united world- now and forever.

  Let's stop racial discrimination today!

  Black is gold, white is bold!

 

  WHEN WE WERE STILL VIRGINS

  by Paul Abiola Oku-ola

  Fresh like the morning dew,

  Stunning without hue,

  Crude but not ignorant,

  Active and not dormant:

  ...When we were still virgins,

  Everyone wanted to be with us,

  Friends, neighbours, suitors, superiors,

  Endless was the calling,

  Intense, the begging.

  ...When we were still virgins,

  Heaven smiled and was proud;

  Earth's lauds were convincingly loud.

  Oh! How I wish those days aren't gone

  How I wish change can devour our hearts of stone

  ...When we were still virgins!

  TEXT TO RESURRECT REVOLUTION

  by Bob McNeil

  Countee Cullen

  And I am of this consensus:

  Prejudice drafts psychopaths.

  Their warpaths

  Transfix our people to many a crucifix.

  There resides the reason why

  My protest must never relax

  From typing its attacks.

  Addressed to your psyche,

  My compositions are microphones for

  Emmett Till, Michael Griffith,

  Yusef Hawkins, Amadou Diallo,

  Sean Bell, Ramarley Graham,

  Trayvon Martin, Darius Simmons,