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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 October 2022
Riverine.
I have known riverine poetry as Okara,
Through the classic call of his River.
The jungle drums and concerto Sage
Effusions of wisdom laced with eloquence,
Craftsmaster who offers a piece of his life
To every reader; unleashing sagas of seas, creeks
Nembe River, watersides, canoes and fishermen.
Like a vestment, the Sage who wears words
As if his life and craft expressed an infinite space,
Blazed forth, enlightening the poetic cosmos
Living the lyrical existence – a good slice of life
Timeworn, yet, crafting words immortal.
Summons.
Albeit, the River had called before –
Now, she summons: insisting, urgent, final
A different call, not of serenades and reminisces
The Sage must make haste; he steps out swiftly.
See, around his writing table – an empty space
And a lonely pen too sharp to be abandoned,
The tested writing implement aversely ebbs
From hewing magical words in prose and verse
Provoking reflections of tranquil craftsmanship.
Mortality.Death, the only infallible contender
Forever plunks the frailty of mortals to test.
O irreproachable Sage!
Like a river, the human life ebbs and flows.
Who shall tell us new tales of creeks and fishermen?
Of streams, beaches, sea waves, corals and ferns?
Eloquent profusions of a life of meditation in words
Crafted to instil and defend a distinct brilliance,
Elegance tempered with frugality.
Rouses.
The Sage, laureled, full of age, glory and honour,
The greys of the moment attesting to drifted seeds of time,
Audaciously, answers the final summon of his River.
Like the ebb of the tide which comes at twilight
The Astute Guru disengages from the mortal plane
At last, the debt of Nature has been paid.
By sundown, the Irreproachable Statesman
Is exhausted, but keeps trudging on,
His twilight-self, still exuding elegance.
Traverses.
At the creek, the waters rise up in grandiose recognition,
In reverential homage to the Impeccable Sage
In fair veneration of the gentle Man of Letters,
A canoe waits by the riverside – stately, bare and quiet.
Gallantly, the Unvanquished Composer progresses
Unhurriedly, eschewing the temporality of tasteful pasts
Of life immersed in the sublime art of poesies,
The Sage sails to his ancestors on the laps of the Nun.
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