Monday 19 December 2016

ERINLE

He was a mortal man clad in charms,
and who's mouth was the dwelling place of incantations.
The people of Ilobu invoked his spirit from their alarms,
for the Fulani had sentenced them to damnation. 

His musket commanded the soul of the antelope,
and his feet thumped hard against the ground like a mighty elephant.
Shrubs of his tilling protected the people like an envelope,
obeying Esu's orders to become a tegument.

Eledumare had given unto him a heavenly mandate,
and he dug his feet into the earth and became a river.
From the woes of ayƩ would he forever remain extricate,
like the dying petals his flesh began to wither.

He rises violently on the south of Offa,
sending exhortations to adversaries lest they be expelled down under.

Adesina Aanuoluwapo John - 2016