For You Dada Eating Dodo Poem by Martin Ayanbare Ayankola

I love the precision of the eagle,
The beauty and pride of the peacock,
I love the majesty of the Elephant
And the catwalk of the cheetah
But nothing compares to you.


I love the innocent, toothless smile of a newborn
The ululating and romantic sounds of the rain beating on the thatched huts
I love the sweet breeze from the rain forest
But nothing compares to the sweet breeze in your smile

I have seen the sweet skanking of the Rastas,
The acrobatic steps of the Alubata Dancers,
I have wriggled to the sweet drums of the dundun and sekere
But your dancing steps are angelic





NOTE. BATA, DUNDUN AND SEKERE ARE TRADITIONAL NIGERIAN DRUMS AND PERCUSSION. DADA IS A YORUBA NAME GIVEN TO A CHILD BORN WITH DREADLOCKS AND DODO IS YORUBA WORD FOR FRIED PLANTAIN. YORUBA IS A LANGUAGE SPOKEN BY PEOPLE IN SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIA.