Bookstrings 1 Poem by ifedayo oshin

Bookstrings 1



I arrived earlier in time
To witness the great work of creation
When from the dust emerged the first man
I saw the destruction of the Noah’s world
And the reconstruction thereafter
The earliest civilization on Egypt soil
Unfolded before my very eyes
The reign of the Greek gods and
The might of Roman, I shared
I walked the streets of Paris
On the eve of Robespierre’s revolution
The triumph of Lenin, Trosky and the royal guards
Were mine at the proletariat Russia
With Cromwell I drank from victory cistern
In Britain in the battle against the crown
In the boat beside Columbus
We discovered the new world, America
In Berlin, we sat and scrambled
For Africa’s partition
From the rocks ravines of Kenya
I fought in the Mau Mau’s rebellion
Behind Ghandi, I walked
Paving the streets of India for independence
At Capetown, I teamed up with Mandela
For freedom in apartheid South Africa
I saw the the CIA at Congo Kinshasa
Murdering young Patrice Lumumba
At Lagos and Accra, I saw the magic wand
Waving over the peoples in the hands of Zik and Nkrumah
On stage with Bob Marley in old Rhodesia
I danced redemption song on the first of Zimbabwe
Last centuries, yesteryears, yesterdays
Today, tomorrow on pages and lines of books
Open before my very eyes and mind.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Gregory Gunn 04 September 2006

Highly intriguing writing, Ifedayo. A history lesson to boot. Solid effort.

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Poetry Hound 29 March 2005

A fascinating and rich poem. Who it the 'I' in the poem? Reminds me of the Stones tune, Sympahty for the Devil, with lyrics like, 'I rode a tank, held a general’s rank, when the blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank.' (Check it out in the lyrics section of poemhunter.) Very good poem, Ifedayo.

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