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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781482861648 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Partridge Publishing Africa |
| Publication date: | 03/21/2016 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 128 |
| File size: | 292 KB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Confluence of Random Thoughts
By John Ogunwole
Partridge Africa
Copyright © 2016 John OgunwoleAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4828-6165-5
CHAPTER 1
Will tomorrow come?
I have waited its lovely dawn to see
Till wait took to wearing
The ugly garments of forever
When the tunes of the sought-after
Seemed so far away as to be inaudible
Its anticipated rhythms lost without a trace
In the deafening din
Of the insurmountable mount
I have waited its warm lips to kiss Till the fires
of my emotions Took on the chilling garb Of
an insensitive frigidity Then was when longing
Seemed devoid of a meaning Its persevering
eyes unable to sight Any ray of hope in the
horizon.
I have waited its tepid air to breathe
Till my nostrils were as plugged
By the long sickening sips
From an overflowing pungent cup
When it became brightly glaring
The futility of well-laid-out-plans, I mean
When the inviolate fallibility of man
Soiled hope's immaculate linen
Though the dawn seems so far away
Its home as at the end of a lane unfathomed
Though emotions lay as without life
On the lowly altar of helplessness
Though breath be fouled at will
By the undesirable pungent smells
On the hooks of an unshakable hope
I do hang my stainless garments
Which I spread on the taut ropes
Of an ever-budding morrow
Will o' the wisp
I crept towards it
Like the 'boneless' Chameleon
I advanced to my prize
Gently, I treaded along, as if the ground
Were made from the chicken eggs
I always had it in sight
My eyes could not afford
The luxury to waver for once.
The picture was always green
Clear and sharp in my mind
It was but a Rose, fair and in full bloom
Yes, that was my prize, and I could not but marvel
At the way it danced, this and that way
On the supple but firm stem
Its clear and bright colors
Lent light to all that dwelt near.
While I got near home
I could not but grant me a reward
For a job nearly done, a feat nearly won
As little as a smile will do
If only to slightly lean on an indulgence
As I reached out to my goal
Gently and with tender fingers
Little else mattered at this juncture
More care could not be called for
As I lithely stretched out to pluck
But, so very slowly
Slower than a Chameleon's unhurried steps
I came off the grip of sleep
As the half-slit moon
Made its silent retreat
From the budding light of day
This is my world!
This, here, is my world I
will say the word
Though I seem from nowhere to have dropped Still, this,
here, is my world
This, here, is my world I
will say the word
Though I seem of living only to have dreamed
This, here, is my world!
This, here, is my world I
will say the word
Though all the time I sit alone like an island
This, here, is my world
This, here, is my world
I will say the word
Though I clamber always to be heard
Still, this, here, is my world
This, here, is my world
I will say the word
Though I have little of worth to my name append
Still, this, here, is my world
This, here, is my world
I will say the word
Though all I do is mostly misconstrued
Still, this, here, is my world
This, here, is my world
I will say the word
Though I am not sure this my word you'll get to read
Still, this, here, is my world
God bless my mother
God bless the one who without grumbling groans
Underneath the weight of a very heavy load
One that never has reached the head for once
The load that never may reach the head for once
God bless all the mothers in the world
God bless the mouth that will rather not curse
Even when the pain is such as cannot be assuaged
The one through which vessel I came alive
The one I knew as the first source of sustenance
God bless all the mothers in the world
God bless the one whose love I first knew
Such feelings as are without blemish or terms
Such as can be perceived in unconditional sacrifices
Made almost with every stride of time and tide
God bless all the mothers in the world
God bless the one whose hands tend to my every need
The one who never deserts in sickness and in health
The one whose guess must always be right
Whose mistake oftentimes may mean the end
God bless all the mothers in the world
God bless the first reason I found to laugh
The one who shared in the joy of my first word
The one who encouraged my very first step
The one who tried always to soothe my pains away
God bless all the mothers in the world
God bless the one that reaches to me throughout life
God bless the first doctor I ever knew
God bless the first love that touched my life
God bless the first to really play God to me
God bless all the mothers in the world
Graceful heart, never alone
Graceful heart, no doubt
Contrite heart, certainly
Not given to many excesses
Dependable in many ways
Still, it is clothed in the human fallibility
Undoubtedly and unfortunately so
No lie to say unequivocally
It could only be an Angel's heart
'It is easier said than done'
Were exact words I heard
Still, no matter how hard I try
And I did try hard to search, but
Show me one that has really loved
That has not for once strayed
In thoughts, maybe, but really in deed
Must have been only an Angel's heart
Does she love less that strayed?
Does the tear indicate the more love?
One good turn may be returned, in time
But, love does not always beget love
We can only be sure of whom we love
None can tell who loves them true and through
Still, who will offer to accept without question?
Only such as with an Angel's heart
Success does not always reward the swift
Love at times gives us a raw deal
Bruised fingers, heart that is hurt and numb
But, as we cannot help who we love
We cannot choose who will love us in return, and
While we may not see love's brilliant glow a while
There are those that will never not be loved
Those that are blessed with an Angel's heart.
Going down the slope
What is left for me at this height?
How much longer have I got in bold?
Not much that I can clearly behold
As I look into this horizon overly distant
I see the arms of the vault beckon
It reaches out to me with such confidence
And that ever-persevering inner voice
Seems now to have lost its tone
There does not seem much
That I have been able, in time, to achieve
Not while I was, among men, such as a chief
When all seemed towards me to rush
My face now is of the hue that's pale
I know not that for which to pray
Just as I cannot now have such as prey
Yeah, my strength now does me fail
How does the strong become this frail?
What has sucked the vigor from my bones?
What has reduced me to this pack of bones?
How do I above this and all prevail?
This was a face once so gorgeous
Which now cannot sustain a smile
This is a mind that was once alert to the mile
But knows not now if it be but conscious
What vehicle brought me to this end?
Maybe lust which drives to needless extremes
Or ignorance which leads to slippery climes
Surely, restraint could have led to better end.
Can I?
Can I enough love give
To gingerly lift up my dream
To effortlessly lay atop a horse
To cause it to ride round the world
Atop the ground and waters as one?
Can I give enough love
To practically path the firmament
For a cruise without wings
Just the two of us
To this whole world fill and feel
To stop all the rain
And make all sunshine?
Can I ever give enough love
To make the stars twinkle
All day and all night and always
To make the moon our abode
And the sun our own plate to dine?
Can I ever enough love give
To convert all vegetation to a rose
To cause an end to pain
To plant a smile on every lip pair
To make of the violent stab
A most blissful feeling
To make love to every man a meal?
My love of you changed all
I used to never know the feeling
The accomplishing feeling of self-worth
It always was as meant for someone else:
But my love of you changed all that
I used to never know the feeling
The thrilling manifestation of self-esteem
It always was as a long steep step beyond:
But my love of you changed all that
I used to never know the feeling
The elating feeling of hope for a future sublime
It always was as the preserve of another:
But my love of you changed all that
I used to never know the feeling
The fulfilling feeling of finding a heart attuned
It always was as intended for the guy beyond:
But my love of you changed all that
I used to never know the feeling
The stark feeling of complete loss and loneliness
It always was as a little distance away:
But my love of you changed all that
His boundless love
In all honesty
I do wish I could cry
For the half-life mercy
In a world this crazy
I groped at the wisdom door, but only
Only a boundless love could be the key
I look about and find
His grace around me abound
His sun in the daytime attend
His moon and stars in the night parade
His soothing breeze at all times surround
Only a boundless love could be the ground
I see in my line of vision
The Eagle and the Chopper without contention
Roam each at its own pace the endless horizon
Then I looked and behold his boundless provision
Even when I go not on His own mission
Only a boundless love could be the explanation
In the arms of indulgence while dreaming
I see His hand in all things with a meaning
I feel his grace in situations demeaning
I bask lots in His mercy always renewing
I found in all I cannot alone do a thing
Only a boundless love could be the reason
Will me strength
The relentlessly scorching sun, I find
Seems to have gone down at last
The edges of the shadows it cast,
I see Have gone down now beyond my sight
The tongue of man can lie
To save a face from loss
Determination can go weak, I perceive
At the knees, in the face of a call we cannot sway
It could never be enough in a game
When you have no willing partner to play
A fervent wish cannot break into a run
Not even if it were a horse on a canter
It is wholesome and splendid to give
And I did give my whole heart
Reservation did not have a place
In the rules by which, with you, I played
I must now find a way
In what seems an end, without a lead
Though I seek the light like a breath
I keep touching the sharp and gloomy edges of darkness
Do not will me pity on my way
Please, not even a bit of luck
But do will me, my dear, I plead
Will me the strength to go on
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Confluence of Random Thoughts by John Ogunwole. Copyright © 2016 John Ogunwole. Excerpted by permission of Partridge Africa.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Will tomorrow come?, 1,Will o' the wisp, 2,
This is my world!, 3,
God bless my mother, 4,
Graceful heart, never alone, 5,
Going down the slope, 6,
Can I?, 7,
My love of you changed all, 8,
His boundless love, 9,
Will me strength, 10,
Breath of the Niger, 11,
The truth is always here, 12,
Without reserve, 13,
A present menace to all, 14,
The ceaseless fount, 15,
Beyond reach, 16,
Smooth, ethereal, 17,
There will always be love, 18,
New times are here, 19,
Feelings, 20,
Do you remember?, 21,
Only home, 23,
Lost in thoughts of you, 24,
Limits, 25,
Lying lips, 26,
Frozen destine, 27,
Non-easing tide, 28,
My fate, 29,
Mad but human, 30,
Locked all in one, 32,
Worthless inheritance, 33,
In time to be, 35,
War, 36,
My dear Country, 37,
Back to the beat, 38,
Be wary, 40,
Trailing behind a redemption, 42,
Pray, forgive, 43,
Long route to ruin, 44,
Dig deep, I plead, 49,
Do not give up, 50,
Sacrifice, never to end, 51,
Say, it is real, 52,
Sought after, 53,
African woman, 54,
Too far gone, 56,
The Gory, 57,
Run!, 58,
Dumb steps into oblivion, 59,
Hope, 60,
Contradictions, 61,
Rhythm, 62,
The Eagle aground, 63,
Abiku, 65,
Let our Crow fly, 66,
To hope it glows, 68,
Rainy night, 69,
Fire within, 70,
Nostalgia, 71,
Only a waste, 72,
Needful of help, 74,
Home grown-a wish, 75,
The Eagle, WAZOBIA, 77,
Brass River, 78,
Another face of neglect, 79,
Tynage old man, 80,
But he died, 81,
Look back at me, 82,
Sunny, son, 83,
Our bane, 86,
The limits of man, 87,
Woman of women, 88,
Can't love another, 90,
Higher yet, 92,
Please, let me go, 93,
In pursuit of the wind, 94,
Blowing the smokes, 95,
Au revoir, 96,
A glimpse of the air, 97,
Promise's limit, 98,
Welcome, 99,
A last wish, 100,
Time moves a mile, 101,
A yesterday gone by (without you)!, 102,
All fade in time, 104,
Where is your pride?, 105,
Passage away, 108,
Bit of a gift, 109,
Tati smiles!, 110,
Not my desire, 111,
Draped in a haze, 112,
Quit fighting and give praise, 113,
Magic year, 114,
Nice and lonely, 116,
Totter, 117,
Saved to sink, 118,