Under the burning sky we toiled that day
Night embraced day and the sky grew gray
We’ve worked all day but we didn’t halt
For if stumps are not cleared by first light
Our taskmasters will not pay.
Yea, if heaps are not raised by cockcrow
Our daylong labour will be in vain
Then, from a nearby shrub, something flashed by
Startled! Yeeee, we screamed in unison;
Paramole! Paramole! Paramole1!
In sheer mayhem, folks scrammed, I stood put
Armed with machete, I invoked my torch
Scrutinized the rustling of leaves nearby
Alas! Its no paramole! It’s an aged Alagemo2
Bellowed on my folks and together we chanted in folksongs
“Oh Agemo, man of many colours”
On the shrubs, you are green
On the earth, you are brown
Oh Agemo, man of many colours
The rainbow clad itself in seven colours
Will you lend it one more? Will you?
The zebra, stripes itself with two, just two
Will you lend it one more? Will you?
Me too! I have one black skin
Will you lend me one, and make me yellow
Yea, make me yellow, turn me to an eebo3
We sang till the night wore thick black coats
Folks left for home, I refrained
Then I probed Alagemo;
Oh Alagemo why do you switch colours?
Is that a ruse to stray oluode’s fiery shots?
Or to domineer haunting claws of death?
Please indulge me Alagemo
Iya Agba said you have zillions of colours
Is it true?
Or you are just a skilful magician;
Amusing the wild with colour tricks?
Mounting Questions upon questions I was
when he answered in rhetorics
“Don’t you pity an old thing? ”
“For fortnights now, i haven’t fed”
“I lay here in ambush for straying millipedes”
“And you juveniles killed my muse”
“Why ask what I don’t know? ”
“Why do you wear multicoloured aso-oke4 to nuptials? ”
“And clad in black ofi to funerals? ”
“Counts of colours I have in me, only Osa-Oke5 knows
“Am just a colourful omnivore of Eledua’s6 artistry”
“Ask no more and leave me with my misery”!
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1 Paramole: Snake
2 Alagemo: Chameleon
3 Eebo: Whiteman
3 Oluode: Chief Hunter
4 Aso-Oke: Woven attires, worn on special functions
5 Osa - Oke: Deity in Heaven, literally; God
5. Eledua: God
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem