Poem: Blood and Water - Edwina Aleme
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| Edwina Aleme |
There is a message of bond, of friendship, of family
A message of water, as one who flows, a confluence
Which connects the earth, the universe, and homage
Both are life to who receives the baton to
Whether traversing paths of life or planted at a spot
Both, are great men's clam for solace
Where family is the blood propelling unity
There is a man whose name called out to the heavens,
A man whose dreams yearned for memorials of honor
A man whose compassion humbled the prance of the lion
A man whose sagacity assembled his house for progress
This man, an embodiment of duty-
the very essence that surpasses disunity
He thrived through the surging sea becoming water
He became the Baptist who dipped men in the rivers of wisdom
He who beckoned on peace, flowed, connecting towns
O minji s'ra te
Like one with giant leaps, he achieved feats
Soared, spreading his wings across terrains of politics
This great man whose interest in sportsmanship
Summoned like minds to nest under his arms that are branches
That served as shelter soothing their hurt
He, the descendant of sojourning articulated epochs
The one whose mission decorated his hometown with beads of
sturdiness
This native whose voice rang like the sound of war drums
Alabo Tonye Harry, alua
The universe wears your name on its chest as an emblem
Though gone on a journey, the elements still announces you
Your footprints upon this court where we stand
still honors your presence
Though, as family, still plagued by your absence
We are reminded that you paddled on throughout Delga
Tamed the raging rivers in sister towns
Lifted off arrogant rocks with your resilience
Jumping hurdles became your hobby
as you raced on igniting hearts
You are both water and blood
You are altar and sacrifice
Conjuring fire and ice
You are the spirit that cannot be imprisoned
Even the mangroves are triumphant at your sight
Whether cloaked in seti or visible woko
the creeks that are ancestors never forget
that the umbilical cord remains a home
That you were mesaya in your time
That you are Imbre!
Da, pikima bo,
for only when one dies does he truly live on
Written and Presented by:
Edwina Aleme
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