Awake (For Home Land) Poem by Bolami lawal

I woke up today to another day
From cradle to old age we feed in lies
There is a famine of freedom and we watched in pity
Our land is in chains and the people in pains
There a place, somewhere across the ocean
Where there is no pain;
In the west no one is in chains
Their streets are littered with gold; and
Their trees bore diamond leaves
So, with shamming insanity we headed for the west!

My niece was a month the day i left
Today; i got a call, she had a boy.
That night, i murdered sleep
The truth suddenly came to me
The urge for my sojourn
Lead to my greatest compromise; and
In all, i failed to live my hallusinations
I have turned my back on my land; and
In those years i toiled and slaved in pains
I searched for gold and found none; and
Those trees must have rid diamonds from their DNA!

Frustrated and used i packed my bags;
I arrived 'muritala' the way i left
A thick shawl wrapped around my neck,
That's all l've got to show for my wasted years
Lost in my thought; it took a while to see,
But these changes are enourmous, they can't be denied
Each face haboured a smile
A drive on the each street like a ride in Paris
And from all; a gaily embrace
'Adigun' my nephew now cruises a murano
So, reluctantly i forced a smile
The land we tagged as doomed is now a fount of hope;
Of a truth, this land is free,
Free from oppression, famine and deceit; and
Her freedom has come to stay!