The stars have departed, the sky in monocle surveys the worldunder The stars have departed, and I – where am I? Stretch, stretch, O antennae, to clutch at this hour, fulfilling each moment in a broken monody.
Christopher Okigbo is apparently one of the Nigeria’s greatest poets. Born in 1932 in Ojoto, Eastern Nigeria, Okigbo studied Classics at the University College. He had written several poems including The Star Have Departed, Newcormer, Watermaid, Love Apart and For He Was a Shrub Among The Poplars. We have decided to title this piece as…
BEFORE YOU, mother Idoto*,Naked I stand;Before your watery presence,A prodigalLeaning on an oilbean,Lost in your legend.Under your power wait Ion barefoot,watchman for the watchwordat Heavensgate;out of the depths my cry:give ear and hearken… DARK WATERS of the beginning.Rays, violet and short, piercing the gloom,Foreshadow the fire that is dreamed of.Rainbow on far side, arched like…