Aya'ba-- A Poem

 Aya'ba

His words are more than music to my ears
They also caress my heart
His words,spirit and life
Pleasantly tingling my ear
My incus, stapes and malleus
More pleasant than mel
Without any ado,
Sumobi, come near
let me tell you a story
The story of my royalty

Once,
The verdict was death and I was guilty
I suffered for the ancestor's adam
Veiled and deceived I was
Encircled by dense opacity
My lips spat profanity
Bound by despair
I followed evil himself
Dead with darkness
I dared not leave evil's nest
Or so I thought

I was a jack of this slave trade
And I was a master of it
Bent over by its demands
Completely bound to evil's whims

He knew me
I didn't even know him
How could I see him with this dark veil over my face?
Black or pitchy, the colour I knew not
He loved me
Me, an aboriginal earthian
Unable to please God

Hostile by evil
He loved me still
He paid evil what I owed
Completely
He paid with His blood and His life
He unfettered me
Now I see clearly
Without evil's veil
Eyin ju Eledumare

So let me dance with pizzazz
He exchanged my rags for golden robes
He has gone to the throne
He said he has gone to prepare my place
Streets of gold, gates of jewels
He is coming again
And here I wait
And I tell you my story while I wait
Ah! Surulere oh
I will wait for Him

Come,
We shall wait
Let us wait
When he comes he will take us all
Don't wonder anymore
For the source of my joie de vivre
J'aime ma Roi!
And He is also my Rohi
Come, let me show you to Him
He left me with a companion
The Spirit with whom He is same
Come, come and enjoy with me
It may be tough but see, His grace is enough
His love spurs me on
His love is sweetness to my belly
Better than honey

Look,
I am like him
He made me like him
Aya Oba
Fit for a king.

©Chima Kelechi
March 2014