Henry Igbinedion Poems

When Giants Speak of Peace

They came with careful language first,
the two great nations of iron and fire.
...

They rise on a pillar of fire,
leaving behind the noise of nations,
the weight of argument,
the smallness of borders
...

Caged within the placid hall, 

I paced the Golgotha of my freedom; 

Searching with unseeing eyes

…freedom in those mocking walls.
...

Those far off days,
Dreams were dreams.
Our hearts heard,
...

Like a bird pregnant with fibroids
The stricken eagle,
On wounded sinews

Cragged the mountain top
...

Caressed at night

By the moon's gentle beams
Hugged warmly at noon 

By the Sun's infinite fluorescence
She floats endlessly 

Driven by the Maker's unseen hand.
...

In a sudden spasm

She convulsed, fury vented

Hillside, slope side, 

All tumbled in a cataclysm of shredded timbers
...

The world is full of them, users and opportunists,
Ingrates with smiling faces and calculating hearts,

They measure your worth by the favours you grant,
...

Fair-Weather Pilgrim/ The visitor of Storms

He appears when the sky has darkened over him,
when the road has turned stubborn
...

Behind jealous clouds
Peeped the Sun at shrouded Earth
Star crossed skies paled sickly as
Pompous stars hid their glitter
...