ALA

                         I Live Beside A River

I live beside a river,
A fish goal and life
I live beside this river
That flows with its mass kinging
Huge leaves.
This river
This river
This river that flows without a stop,
Beside it I live.
I live beside a river,
More ancient than my thought.

At the wake of a day
I walked down arid ground
Crossed the hindrance of night-men
And the confusion of man
Always seating on it
Always thinking whether to or not to
Jump down from it.
I crossed over to the older world;
The river world
And then I, with sharp eagles, gazed
At this river that flows
Without a stop
A deed I saw and cried aloud
No, within, I cried, so the birds: weevil,
Aiyekooto and its other folks

Won't tell me to all the earth
And not reveal to the earth the thing
It passed each time time died, yet never saw
(Though if truth is told to the earth, truth it will reject
But if lies are sold at costly prices, lies it will digest)
A thing no one had seen but me.
Oh mine! Like the river
I did the same.

I saw the river shed tears,
I also heard it cry,
Weeping like a child off its mother.
Crying for the sweet milk
From her breasts.

I thought the river voyaged
Without pain but happiness,
Without sorrow but joy,
For its ears listens to the sweet songs of fishes
And is greeted by tall trees and plants

But!

The river does cry
Yes, it does cry
It seems for long it has been in pain
Certainly for long
Certainly for long
For it has given birth to unblessed children
And the unblessed children in turn give birth to unblessed children
With no mothers' blessing
With no old words from old breasts
To guide its unknown exile
Hence it weeps
The river truly weeps.
I saw its tears
On the water's skin
The river is depressed,
The river is down
With pains of memory,
With pains of origin;
For it has parted
With its mother,
The river is lost
In an unknown land,
Though now it has a name
But not every name is name
Now it has been given a home to flow
But not every home that homes one is home
Is there a home with no folk to call one's own?
If such exist, I beg make I know.

I live beside a lonely river,

Which weeps and shivers
For it has no mother to sing it songs.
To hear those lullabies of wonders
And great calming whistles.

I live beside the Ala River
Which reminds me of the mystery
Behind the mouth and the breast.
Even the waters pour out tears,
For it has parted with its mother
That mother river that brought it life.
Even the river remembers a mother,
Though so long they have parted,

I live beside this river,
That weeps like a child
Off its mother's calming back.


Aiyekooto: A Yoruba name for parrot, it literary means ‘the world discards truth’