"As A Nation", "Night Verse" And Three Other Poems By John Chinaka Onyeche

Before we amble into the aisle, And the bells tolling in raging order, Fifteen-eight-twenty-twenty-one; There was a whisper within me, It says, take

COUNT YOUR BLESSING

Before we amble into the aisle, 

And the bells tolling in raging order, 

Fifteen-eight-twenty-twenty-one;

There was a whisper within me,

It says, take up your quipu device, 

With every string-like line; 

And each cord in distinct colours, 

Marked with knots of memories,

Read the meaning to their ears, 

What episodes life amasses you. 

At the threshold of life's scenes, 

We have become men in boys shadow, 

Kissing every hurricane of memories; 

Of course, those who swallowed up; 

Our goals in a broad spectrum of time, 

And left us as a wounded lion in the jungle, 

Nonetheless, we have prevailed over it,

Our bells tolling to the adulthood of esprit. 

Our bruises are buried in a nutshell of times, 

As time heals all the wounded lions of the jungle; 

Yes, we have withstood the raging waters of life, 

And over the high hills of life's hope cheers; 

There the echoes of accolades are heard of, 

As we ascended to the life's hills in numbers; 

Fifteen-eight-twenty-twenty-one; 

The voice whispered again, this time, 

Count your blessings and name them, 

One by one.

Farewell To Our Sorrow

Our grief for yesteryear's ills 

Today it has on-board the ship

Sailing across the country's seas 

Formed by tears of our forefathers 

As none wishes to hold the ship back

Sorrows and slavery fare thee well 

We are children of the black race 

The book of history hold us dear 

We belong with the brightness of life

Of our land and the waters it holds

At the cradle of this invented man 

We are existing and have existed

At this waterway of our existence

Created by the tears of Africans 

As the quest for the life of others

Men across our tears in rejoice

Let the same tears be shipped

Tonight as we gathered here 

To bid farewell to our sorrows

AS A NATION

With the cranky noise of guns 

And booming sounds of bombs

We have become more wars

More we have not become peace 

A nation under one name 

A nation under one God 

A nation under one heaven

A nation under one earth 

With the cranky noise of guns

And booming sounds of bombs

We have become more battles 

More we have not become stability

NIGHT VERSE

On this shadowless land      

             

 of our 

            refinements 

And of our recollections 

            of past moments 

I have spread our bed 

                                  on this sanctuary 

              Of the memories 

moisturising our hearts 

And of our journey 

                        as I lay face upwards

It is of your 

                       magnificence 

                                                    I cogitate with

 

                     Day & night 

with every word you have spoken 

                   Behind them all, 

           I hide our love in purity 

                                 With jealousy 

against the droughts

                  As our love irrigate 

                                                the desert land 

               And our uninhabitable becomes habitable

VOYAGE OF LOVE

Such lovely words,

you spoke to my ears

that unfolds my heart

like petals of a rose

I am regained in you 

& we are complete 

unbroken chords

Take me tonight

to that lost kingdom

let's make our beds 

in every rose petals 

leaving none broken

upon this rose beds

Underneath this tree

come again and speak

please those words

the ones you spoke

at the beginning of this

voyage of love in Tokyo

BIO

John Chinaka Onyeche (Rememberajc) is an upcoming poet from Nigeria. He writes from the city of Port Harcourt Rivers State.  He is an undergraduate student at Ignatius Ajuru University Of Education Port Harcourt Rivers State, Nigeria, where he is undergoing studies for his degree in History and Diplomatic Studies.

His writings are more on a historical perspective of the ordeal of Africans in the hands of their slave masters, life from the other way around it, and his works have appeared in many journals/magazines online within and outside Nigeria.

You can find his works on the following websites;

Spillwords, Melbourne culture corner, Nnoko Stories, TunaFishjournal,  Moreporkpress, Nymphspublications, Youthmagazine, Acumen, Zindaily, pawnerspaper Conceitmagazine, Mosi oa Tunya Literary Review,  Rigorous, and are forthcoming in Kalahari Review, Ethelzine.

He can be contacted with the following links:

Rememberajc.wordpress.com

Facebook.com/jehovahisgood 

Twitter.com/apostlejohnchin

Apostlejohnchinaka@gmail.com

Mobile number: 08038920425