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ABOUT JOHN ONYIDO AND HIS POEMS
John Onyido is a Nigerian prolific writer whose materials have been published in several media outlets. His writings are filled with spices of his African (Nigerian) culture which is very easily noticeable particularly in his poems. in his words, "I attempt to suggest to the readers a different perspective to life that might not altogether be conventional, with the aim, hopefully, of engendering a deeper enquiry into a meaningful life in which we all live as one humanity under our creator, with higher more progressive ideals." In due course, we will provide you with more information on Mr. John
Onyido. More of his works with our group of websites, can be found at www.Expressionsofsoul.com
SEE
HIS POEMS BELOW
THE FINAL FRONTIER
In search of the last frontier man
Has craved for as long as life has been.
Moving further out still but none seen
Except pointers to man the seeker.
In frenzied desperation he peers
Into the endless galactic space
In search of a specter of life or trace.
But only pointers to man the seeker.
Into the bottomless oceans he ventures.
Encountering saline soaked extrusions
Oblivious to his diverse intrusions.
Again pointers back to man the seeker.
In utter exhaustion man whimpers.
And where's the darn elixir of life?
The philosopher's stone sought with strife.
And pointers back to man the seeker.
Oh, if only man would care to look
Within for a glimpse of the Holy Grail.
In man concealed with wreaths of Braille
For man is fearfully but wonderfully made.
THE MARKET DAYS
Our fathers knew of four market days
That intricately wove round their lives.
Days solemn tasks were performed.
Days ascribed to gods and ancestors,
Whose munificence were sought,
Their wrath serpiginously appeased.
Our fathers knew of four market days
Serpentinely clutching the festivals
And ceremonies of the serried clan.
Days mothers trudged to village squares
Clasping hand-made wares for a cowry
Shell or two; days of splendor when
Children sired by few belonged to all.
Our fathers knew of four market days
Around which moonlight tales were told.
Children scurried round elders to hear
Of the tortoise and the hare and brave
Deeds long past, gazing into the central
Fire smoldering the cool evening breeze.
TIDAL WAVE
As I sit pensively, lost in thoughts by the rocky steppes
I observe your transparent beauty as it cascades down those
Inclines unobstructed, uninhibited and unsullied by all that
Is impure, untried and inexperienced within life's steep steps.
You are radiant and full of vital impulse, your innocence
Primordial and primitive. You emanate from a far source
Tossing your self uncaringly over the precipice, oblivious to sense
And to any dangers that may abound in the abyss that is life's source.
The foam of your powerful impact generates heat, energy
And activity that is translatable by man in beneficial ways.
Luscious greenery abides in your presence and your synergy
Nourishes with life giving effulgence and the warm embrace of days.
Within your bosom emerged the first forms of life
In minute sub-atomic particles. Yes in your primitive womb
Were the first living things cradled and sustained with rife
Until the time was right for their emergence on terra's tomb.
Your beneficence has not ceased in the least since that remote
Early times when the world was young and unweaned.
Beloved, you are the embodiment of all that represents life's rote,
Unceasingly providing for man's sustenance through eons on end.
Together with the other elements creation becomes complete
And revealed in its many forms and appearances. You are loath
To destroy or to harm except when your warnings and cautions replete
Are disdainfully ignored and unregarded and man's solemn oath
Forfeited. He then pays fully the ultimate price of non-reverence to thee.
Your name is Unami "the turtle" and the bull frogs moan and croak
On your lily pods all through the summer night, creating a melody of symphonic
Sounds that reverberate hither and tither on surrounding rock.
The wild geese come and go and the turtles randomly appear phobic.
Within your boundless fringes reside the great creations
Of our mythologies and folkloreour fairytales and legends.
Those ancient beings that have forever existed in our imaginations,
Our deepest realities. Indeed I wonder how old you are
My mind cannot fully fathom nor conceive of your true origin and era,
Of your scope, of your boundlessness. You have witnessed and perchance
Engendered all the transformations and upheavals on terra.
Your ageless Wisdom leaves me speechless and insecure at a glance.
All these and more cause me to honor thee, to acknowledge
Your love, your supremacy and your strength, against which power
I am helpless and ignore at my peril. And after I am long gone
You still remain as you always have been, even before man ever
Made his entrance upon Terra and inhabited your shores edge.
John Chike Onyido,
Sumneytown, Pennsylvania
THE LEAST
ONE
merging from beyond the far reaches
Of space and time and of phenomena.
Extending into the denseness of matter.
Projecting your radiance by reflection.
Submerging your vastness encased in form.
Containing your potential for millennia.
Inhibiting your infinitude and wisdom.
Constraining your expansiveness with effort.
Restraining your powers from God endowed.
Withholding your transcendence for life's gifts.
Constricting your abilities to propel upwards.
You have become the least one, man's soul.
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