Maiden Of Ekwensu Poem by Chibueze Oscar Osuji

The wind blew outside and inside
Into darkness and anti-light
Hell's hut prevail'd and part aside
To reveal Ekwensu in sight,
When comely time was never right,
On its beat on the village sphere,
Anti-clockwise it spun around,
From Ekwensu's hut that lies there
In a vale just below the ground
Nightly list'ning to the fire sound,
Awaiting his maiden to come
His maiden now, his maiden then
To come in-tune with him back home
From the canal huts of young men
Whom he now have for ransom
If not all, he was sure for some.
And he gave her the eyes of gold
To glitt'r thro' the brass hearts of kings,
To melt them molt'n, like mountain-fold,
Her sweet voice he made from the strings
Of hell with fine tune when she sings
To the ears of a loving man;
He bath'd her by the river-god
T' swim thro' men hearts like leviathan,
And yes she had call'd him 'dark lord'
Yes she kills men faster than sword,
And she had call'd him as the wave
She call'd and christen'd him 'obi'm',
she had done his will to the grave,
All these things she did just for him
She obscur'd even the hearts of saints dim
To sin, on her luscious body-shape
Painted with Nzu from Niger-
River bank, from toes to the cape,
Of her slender neck, and younger
Was time, but her life was shorter,
Chineke knew she was his own
The Ogbanje was only his,
From her skin to her marrow-bone
All his! Yes, no one would change this,
The more souls she gave, brought him bliss;
The wind bow'd before her beauty
Her Ori-skin with brew'd ointment,
Her neck wore the rarest of beads, see
And see, her like an ornament
That him and hell duelly present.
But she had not liv'd forever,
For evil gifts never end well,
So thrush Ekwensu subdued her
Back to the flaming hut of hell
With Oku the fire, she will dwell.