Who would have thought of water being sold in a shop?
Ewers or guard then in tins
But now we see different
We have seen it all
And painfully it is not our handiwork
Who would have thought of it being drunk with a mug?
Only halved miniature guard then metal vessel
But now we see different
We have seen it all
And painfully it is not our handiwork
Who would have thought of oxen building ridges
Only man's plough or a hoe
Yet now we see different
Plough and ridger
We have seen all
And painfully it is not our handiwork
Who would have imagined salt white manure?
Only dung
But now we see different
We have seen it all
And painfully it is not our handiwork
Who would have imagined arriving at Jedda in a matter of hour?
Only a year or so fast thing
But now we see different
We have seen it all
And painfully it is not our handiwork
Who would have thought of living under corrugated roofs?
Only thatch
But now we see different
We have seen it all
And painfully it is not our handiwork
Who would have imagined calling the world wherever you could be
But now we see different
We have seen it all
And painfully it is not our handiwork
Who would have thought of drawing water without leather bucket and a sisal rope?
But now we see different
We have seen it all
And painfully it is not our handiwork
Who would have thought of battle without sword, arrow and bow?
But now we see different
We have seen it all
And painfully it is not our handiwork
Who would have imagined a shave without a scissors?
But now we see different
We have seen it all
And painfully it is not our handiwork
Who would have imagined being fanned without the frond fan?
But now we see different
We have seen it all
And painfully it is not our handiwork
Who would have ever imagined demarera could be whitewashed?
But now we see different
We have seen it all
And painfully it is not our handiwork
Who would have ever thought of a cleric sitting on thing other than ram skin?
But now we see different
We have seen it all
And painfully it is not our handiwork
Whoever imagined donkeys would be relieved
Whoever thought calabashes be pushed to rear
But now we see different
We have seen it all
Who would have imagined respect only reserved for the rich?
Little for clerics
Little for Parents-in-law
Little for relatives
And about non for the poor folks
But now we see different
We have seen it all
this poem calls for sober reflections. What is happening to our very own creativity...it is really painful that these days very little is OUR handiwork.
The traditional Nigerian or rather African economic activities continue to suffer total degradation such that local craftsmen are rendered unemployed. This poem depicts this awful state of affair.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
We have seen it all! ! ! ! ! Thanks for sharing this poem with us.