When òlowolàyémò painted
Happiness to the face of omo adáríhun
With his flowing wealth & his bulwarking fame
You climbed through his chest
And made a cold violence with his soul.
When balógun has walked through many wars
And made àrigiségi against adversary
That dabbed their swords towards his legion
You ripped off his body like a kite that billowed in the sky
When aborè has appeased the gods of the land
Including èsù laagiri òkò to muddle
The head that set the roof ablaze
You transmogrify his ewé & egbò into ashes
And made him a subject to the soil
When olúode had a combat with oloola ijù
And made a continuity wrestle with iwin inú igi
When his bag reeks the meat of animals
And his dauntless charm that beyond
The seven mountains & seven seas
You puffed your mournful song to his tangled bed
When orí adé ascend the throne of his valiant forefathers
And made a dreadful command on the irreplaceable ground
You snatched the crown with tranquility
And made the royalty an emissary to the soil
When depression roams about the heart of aláròpin èdá
And suicide became a regular course that must be offered
You climbed the closed walls of the skull
And made a rapid decision like onísírò summed one plus one
You visited the home of omidan
And hover round the abode of òdómokunrin
You displayed your lugubrious flute
And made their parents sang the threnodies of those
That was meant to cover their body with the soil
You gave a great wallop to alaare
Whose teeth is as red as that of sokoti, alagbede orùn
And his body that perched to the tree of dryness as that of eja sawa
You made their contending pasture
A wrecked boat on a flowing stream
You walked through the village of ajagunsegun
And made ewé akòkó in the fiction of fagunwà
You caused endless chaos and made mouths
Summed up those that kissed the ground.
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Glossary:
Olowolayemo: Yoruba name for a rich man
Balogun: Yoruba warrior
Àrigiségi: back to sender
Èsù laagiri òkò: god of devil
Ewé & egbò: herbs
Olúode: chief hunter
Oloola ijù: lion
Iwin inú igi: monster
Orí adé: crown
Aláròpin èdá: hopeless soul
Onísírò: mathematician
Òdómokunrin: young man
Omidan: maiden
Sokoti, alagbede orun: the first blacksmith
Eja sawa: dry fish
Ajagunsegun: a powerful village
Ewé akòkó: Yoruba leaf
Written by Aderohunmu Abdulrokeeb
aderohunmuabdulrokeeb@gmail.com