Never Stay Long By The Stream Poem by Mobolaji Aderogba

Never stay long by the stream

Never stay long by the stream
The leaves sway up and down
The sharp edge cut the thigh
And the stream dredged into pools
Who dredged the stream?
The wood-carver
The goddess of the stream
Or the fishermen?
No one to fetch water
Villagers are hungry
The nursing mothers, the aged and the cripples
In size, no jumble in the jungle
Never stay long in the stream
The wood-carver
And the fishermen
Can no longer stay by the stream
But a mortar-legged creature


(mobolaji aderogba)



The palm wine tappers

When the sunset
Under the shade of trees
They rejoice
With their local attires
Singing the song
The song of the palm wine tappers
With the beat of the drum
And the calabashes
Taking palm wine
To raise the melody of the songs
And the steps
With the beat of the drum
The drum of their race

Mobolaji Aderogba