Poems are the diamonds of imagination; they take you deeper without drowning.
In his lifetime of art, popular Nigerian poet, Christopher Okigbo surfed through the depth of human vicissitudes to harmonize his works.
Jollofmash shares with you a few of his works to reenact your mind and thinking.
If you like poetry, these could be inspiring:
Before You, My Mother Idoto
Before you, my mother Idoto,
Naked I stand;
Before your weary presence,
A prodigal
Leaning on an oilbean,
Lost in your legend
Under your power wait I
On barefoot,
Watchman for the watchword
At Heavensgate;
Out of the depth my cry:
Give ear and hearken…
Dark Waters of the Beginning
Ray, violet, and short, piercing the gloom,
Foreshadow the fire that is dreamed of.
Rainbow on far side, arched like boa bent to kill,
Foreshadow the fire that is dreamed of.
Me to the orangery
Solitude invites,
A wagtail, to tell
The tangled-wood-tale;
A sunbird, to mourn
A mother on spray.
Rain and sun in single combat;
On one leg standing,
In silence at the passage
The young bird at the passage
Silence Faces at Crossroads
Silence faces at crossroads:
Festivity in black…
Faces of black like black
Column of ants,
Behind the bell tower,
Into the hot garden
Where all roads meet:
Festivity in black…
O Anan at the knob of the panel oblong,
Hear us at crossroads at the great hinges
Where the players of loft organ
Rehearse old lovely fragment, alone-
Strains of pressed orange leaves on pages
Bleach of the light of years held in leather:
For we are listening in cornfields
Among the windplayers,
Listening to the wind leaning over
Its loveliest fragment….
Thunder Can Break
Fanfare of drums, wooden bells: iron chapter;
And our dividing airs are gathered home.
This day belong to a miracle of thunder;
Iron has carried the forum
With token gestures.
Thunder has spoken,
Left no signatures: broken
Barbaricans alone tell one tale the winds scatter.
Mountain or tower in sight, lo, your hostages –
Iron has made, alas, masterpieces –
Statuettes of legendary heroes – iron birds
Held – fruit of flight – tight
For barricaded in iron handiwork a miracle caged.
Bring them out we say, bring them out
Faces and hands and feet,
The stories behind the myth, the plot
Which the ritual enacts.
Thunder can break –
Earth, bind me fast –
Obduracy, the disease of elephants.
A Simple Analogy of What You Have Read
Before You, My Mother Idoto
A wayward child standing humbly before a wise, ancient tree, seeking guidance and forgiveness.
Dark Waters of the Beginning
A solitary bird witnessing the clash of rain and sun, representing the struggle between light and darkness in the world.
Silence Faces at Crossroads
An orchestra of silent, black-robed figures at a bustling intersection, where destiny and history play an ancient, mournful tune.
Thunder Can Break
A powerful thunderstorm revealing the hidden stories of legendary heroes, as if an ancient museum suddenly came to life with the sound of breaking iron.
Simplicity is the art of memory – F.Omosola
About the Author
Christopher Okigbo was a Nigerian poet born in Ojoto in 1932. He studied classics at the University of Ibadan and held various education-related positions before becoming the West African Representative of Cambridge University Press. Okigbo was known for his lively conversation and creative disposition, fueled by his passion for reading.
Okigbo’s life was cut short by civil strife. When the Biafra war began, he supported the secession-seeking Biafra region and became one of the early casualties of the war in 1967.
Before his death, Okigbo published several volumes of poetry, including Heavensgate, The Limits and Other Poems, and long sequences in journals.
His works continue to inspire and evoke deep reflections on human experiences and the socio-political landscape of his time.
