Poet-Today | Abdulrahman Mohammed Abu-Yaman | The Arts-Muse fair
LIFE AND TIMES OF SHAMGBO GBARA
Shamgbo,
the primus inter pares of
Gbara
land. Not to be confused with Sango-
the god of thunder in Yoruba land.
Synonymous to both was
their in-built thunder.
Unlike the latter, Shamgbo- my maternal
grandpa was a calm thunder.
His words were as soft
as silk but
as sagacious as
Solomon's.
The light skinned old
man had the three
famed Nupe tribal marks
on both
sides of his cheeks
striped keener to his
mouth diagonally.
Visiting Shamgbo from far away, he would
crack jokes with Yadogi, my brother, about
an imaginary eya-fiti he promised to gift him
but yet to touchdown
despite squillions of
naira expended on its
proposed runways.
Shamgbo
had a small square-sized parlour
small enough not be
rectangular but large
enough to accommodate
millions of hearts
Antiquities and
mishmash of ancient
paraphernalia were
clustered in the
living room.
Shamgbo
while lounging on his
spring bed would
decline my offer to
fan him with his tsofengi and would say
"who am I?"
humbling himself down
to earth.
Shamgbo
would have me unfoot my
footwear before
squatting down to
greet elders as per
culture.
Shamgbo
grew infirm and on his sickbed,
he predicted +15 years
for himself after
he overcomes his illness.
Grandpa died on the
15th of
that same month.
Perhaps his earlier
prediction was to install
on us our lost
confidence and happiness,
two of which were
vanished during his
protracted illness.
RIP Shamgbo Gbara!
Footnotes
Gbara
land: an ancient city in Nupe kingdom situated in
the middle belt of Nigeria where the first paramount ruler of the Nupe kingdom
emerged.
Shamgbo:
a title in gbara land conferred on the most prominent personality who has
distinguished himself among his contemporaries.
Sango:
(pronounced as Shongo)the god of thunder in Yoruba mythology.
Eya-fiti:
aeroplane.
Tsofengi:
local hand fan made of palm raffia.
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REAL COLOURS
Been living in a world
of
black and white.
Monotonous monochrome!
Was ignorant of other
colours
till our paths crossed
each other
and you showed me your
real colours.
The first colour I saw
was blue,
light blue of the iris
in your eyes
housing a crescent in
your pupils.
Wow!
The first time I saw
red was when
you took a bullet for
me
Unforgettable!
I got to know green
when you showed
me the shape of your
heart
Unlike others, yours
was lemon green.
Unique!
Your lips introduced me
to pink.
Don't get it twisted,
it was all natural
No lipstick attached.
And your laughter
revealed yellow to me
shinning on your
beautiful dentition
Lovely!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
BEAUTY FLAWED
What's a beauty without
a flaw?
Incomplete! Can you
invade a rose bush
without going through its
sentinels of
thorns armed with
piercing needles?
What a beauty that
repels her lovers!
Indeed beauty is
flawed.
What would the full
moon look like
without the solar
reflection?
But as beautiful as the
full moon glows
its craters are there
to stay
Who says beauty is not
flawed?
Our dear beautiful
butterfly...
weighing almost zero
kilograms
floats like snowflakes
but she is often
incarcerated
in a whirlwind;
powerless and helpless
denying such a
beautiful creature her
liberty of mobility
Another beauty flawed.
As beautiful as the
rainbow paints the sky,
it's spectrums are
quite blurry and ephemeral
The manifestation is
even subject to some rare
atmospheric combination
and permutations
Isn't this beauty
flawed?
Da Vinci's Monalisa may
be super beautiful
but what is in a beauty
with countless
counterfeits of
striking resemblances to
the real McCoy?
Yet, another beauty
flawed.
Oh Paris! You may be
the most beautiful
city in the world, but
the first image that comes
to mind when you are
mentioned is nothing but
a giant triangular nest
of steel with a giraffe neck
looking down on your
parks and gardens, city lights
and satellite towns
Beauty flawed.
Miss Peacock with her
beautiful long feathers
that intoxicates both
the holder and the beholder
is too proud to
socialize with others
due to her pride of
course
Beauty is flawed.
Dear beauties all over
the universe
Without your flaws,
incomplete you are!
For your flaws polishes
your beauty to shine!
**************
Abdulrahman Mohammed Abu-yaman is writer
and accidental Economist. He occasionally moves out of his comfort zone, which
has led him to discover other abilities like art and calligraphy, which he now
alternates with poetry and other forms of literature. He performed at the Abuja
Literary Society Poetry slam 2016 and exhibited his art and calligraphy works
at an art exhibition in Gusau Institute, Kaduna. His poems have been featured
in Kalahari Review, London Grip, Asian Signature, Brittle Paper, Sentinel Literary
Quarterly and in Daily Trust Newspapers. He loves watermelons, sarcasms,
decent fashion and a little friend called perfume. He tweets @abuu_yaman
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