Precious Chisom Blog

ELEVEN, ELEVEN I longed for this day, To fall into the amorous Arms of days gone by, to drift Into the halcyon days of youth To have another go at the past Eleven, eleven is here again But I am not provoked by songs of the wind That make me relive yesterday The children are not singing Eleven, eleven, Hamatam ‘Cause there’s no hamatam I’m looking around for people With coarse skins, but Theirs are more succulent than mine Now… I’m thinking of Marry-Knoll College Not in nostalgia But in wonderment Of where the wind has gone Of what is happening at The boundless gates of Marco, Burial ground, toilet, dam, field, father’s house and, Akpariku… the forbidden farce (c)  Ochelebe T

Asokoro The extension of Cross North The Host to deep pockets And names with bells Men and women Wrapped in red And a Coral offering To herald the Lord's birth Our spirits are lifted In Asokoro and, We are prepared To welcome the Lamb of God But what happens To the nameless, pocketless people In Cross North? What happens to their spirits Bereft of carols? What happens to the near-empty pots That will ascend the hearth On the day of our Lord's birth? What happens to children all wrapped in rags? (c)  Ochelebe T

COME AWAY WITH ME Okuku, You told me To go away I say come with me Away from prying eyes And wagging tongues From false salutations And fake smiles... Away from hearts blemished And souls tainted, Come with me, Away from nights without Stars, Clouds without rain, Away from punctuated hopes, From cataracts of languid laughters And ocean of tears Come with me, Away from lands Watered by rivulets of crimson And sorrow-painted lives. Let us head together Hand-in-hand To the land of liberty Where no one trails Our undisturbed silhouette As we watch the sun Head to the horizon In the evening of our lives. Come away with Me, Okuku! (c)  Ochelebe T (The picture is mine) 

 My View on Feminism Last night,it became clear to me that a lot more Nigerians than I thought,do not understand something basic. So I will clear it up. I made a post about how feminism isn’t about women being better,higher placed or treated better than men. I said feminism is JUST about women having the same human rights,the same human dignity as men. Someone then asked that if I think women should have the same rights as men,if I think women should be equal to men in society....then in a situation where a man marries 4 wives,who then should be the head of that polygamous situation??     Here’s the thing. Marriage or romantic relationships are PERSONAL! Nigerians have this tendency of just skipping to the institution of marriage when feminism is spoken about. But feminism entails ALOT more. There are various types of marriages. I had a neighbor when I used to live in Zone6 Abuja,foreign affairs quarters...the man of the house used to carry his wife’s bag for her to the car EVERY

I AM A WOMAN!!! So what? I get into an argument with a man, he slaps me, I feel the pain, yet they tell me I provoked him. I should have been quiet, I should have been patient. I should apologize to him. I get into an argument with a man, I slap him, they tell me I have no respect, no home training. I should have been quiet, I should have been patient. I should apologize to him. Because I am a woman, I don't have a right to be angry. So, the degree of my innocence is directly proportional to the degree of my silence in the face of oppression and brutality..... Because I am a woman, my husband cheats on me, I am told to tolerate it to save my marriage. The barbaric and stupid excuse is that ''it is in their nature to cheat, I should slim down, dress better, cook better, pray harder and be more pleasant to him" I cheat, and I am called a whore, I have committed an abomination, I have no right to look elsewhere for the love and

Insight I was a boy, innocent Of the many ways of the world  I knew a girl ... I became a man! I was a man, a real man... I knew the many ways of women And lost my manliness To their many hues and cries against inequalities. I was a church boy, Yes, a real church boy But I also became politically correct And church became too extreme in her extremities. Every gained consciousness Removes far from me Those halcyon days of youth When the voice of innocence spoke innocently And earned me the kisses of Okuku... Now I live in total wonderment If the world is better or worse off with every fresh insight. (c)  Ochelebe T