NGOZI OLIVIA OSUOHA - POEMS

Ngozi Olivia Osuoha is a young Nigerian poet/ writer and a graduate of Estate Management. She has some experience in banking and broadcasting. She has published some works abroad in some foreign magazines in Ghana, Liberia, India and Canada, among others. She enjoys writing.

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                                     HURRICANE MAN

​
I hear brotherhood calling
I feel the pain of nationhood,
The burden of a country
The agony of one people,
As the scavenger looms
And ravages the nations.

Arresting laws, jailing policies
Swallowing bills, scraping services
Eroding values, molesting cultures
Murdering peace, fertilizing wars,
Killing unity, sowing discord
Abusing freedom, planting sodom.

I see boredom everywhere
As morals get imprisoned
And loyalty impoverished,
I percieve disarray
As rules get stolen
And labour disabled,
I sense earthquake
As constitutions drown
And regulations trapped,
I envisage landslides
As terrors fortify
And racism magnifies,
I learn violation by exploitation
Because patriotism sinks
And development dies,
Dishonesty threatens a collapsing economy
As bandits cart away resources.

Hurricane man; worse than all hurricanes
Hurricane man, the rage of destruction
Hurricane man; the stormy hand of hurricanes.

                      TALES OF THE ILLFATED PENSIONER

​
Poor, yet over-delayed salary
Unpaid allowances, forgotten arrears
No incentives, hard labour
Used, abused, misused, disposed
Haggard, hungry, gored and bored
Bugged, abandoned and overstretched;
Service, a blessing or curse?

Sane, sound, sincere and sensitive
Diligent, dedicated and delightful
Truthful, trusworthy and thoughtful
Committed, cautious and courteous
Respectful, responsible and reasonable
Lively, loyal and law abiding
Humble, humane and harmonious
Punctual, peaceful and protective
Regular, resilient and resourceful
What went wrong?

No shelter of his own
No balanced meal,
Unclean water, unsafe environment
Not even a bicycle
Deteriorating, dwindling and ageing
Timid vicinity, crude community
Is service a crime?

Unpaid pensioners, unemployed children
Retarded passions, stunted visions
Frustrated dreams, crushed talents
Dashed hopes, dimmed future
Wishing he was umarried and childless
Like his colleagues who had it rougher.

A boundless pain
Slumping on verification queues
Bedridden, dejected and rejected
Dying, a miserable pauper
Undignifying, so ungodly a culture
Bound a people, cruel a world
Wasted, unyielding, so regretful a labour;
The height of cruelty on patriots.