Naija Philia!

I let the lagoon speak for my memory
though offended by water hyacinth
waste and nightsoil…

I still let the Lagoon reclaim
the seduction of a land moving
with the desire of a sailing ship
pursuing a known star

The Lagoon speaks
like a foetus remembering the future,
listening from the depths of formless song
for the Words that break
against the voyages of discovery
in the discovery of voyages

My Lagoon speaks!
gateway and storehouse; never dry,
in regatta floats hauling epic seasons
in floods that take over
the lordly garbage of our alleys
after the rains
have registered their pity

I let the Lagoon speak for my memory
to teach me how to scoff
at the lines drawn on water
to divide the earth

I let the Lagoon teach me
to forget street names
in order to gulp whole cities
like a glass of kola wine.

AUTHOR: Odia Ofeimun; born in Iruekpen-Ekpoma Town in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria, on Thursday 16 March 1950.