COME HOME

So long have you been away in the land of the spirits,
Oh great one,
For this long have you deserted the shrine, searching through the evil forest,
For the key to unlock the golden age,
For the answer to the questions that have longed troubled us,
For the solution to the problem that long plagued the village,

The king is worried, though with mixed feelings,
The villagers are disturbed, though delightful,
The entire community already mourns you,
And your family weeps for fear of your death,

Come home, oh great one,
Return, thou representative of the gods,
And mouthpiece of the spirits,
For a new dawn has come,
The winds of liberation have blown into our land,
And the springs of redemption into our borders have flown,

We have been ushered into the white man's religion,
Witnessed the testimonies of the preachers,
Experienced the power of the foreign God,
And we now in peace and prosperity live,
All thanks to the almighty.

N/B: The poem tries to present a picture of cultural Africa before the arrival of the white man and christianity. It paints a picture of the time when gods were worshiped in Africa.

IN A GREAT A HOUSE

In a great house,
There exists vessels of different kinds,
Some of gold, some of silver,
Others of iron, some others of clay, and many others of wood,
In a great house,
There co-exists the good, the bad, and the ugly,
Even the beauty and the beast,
All with a distinct role to play,

In a great house,
There reigns kings, queens, princesses, and princes,
Servants, paupers and peasants,
All with a specific contribution to the house,

In a great house,
One can find blacks, whites, Hispanics, and Latinos,
The skinny-looking and the corpulent,
With no one any less better than the other,
All having a unique purpose,
In a great house,
There is the wild, the calm, the innocent and guilty,
All having separate lives to live,
And different accounts to give to their maker.

STRUGGLES

A part of life they are,
A vital ingredient of our existence,
Always they juggle us, and better they never cease to make us,
More reasonable, our mental struggles make us,
Out of us, experience, the physical struggles bring,
And more disciplined, they make us,

At different points everyone struggles,
The leader and the led,
The pulpit and the pew,
The bar and the bench,
More so, mental, emotional, social, financial or physical, these struggles may be,

Like puzzles they are,
And each day we live anticipating an answer, in the form of an end,
Out of struggles, we even struggle to get,
What a paradox!
A mother, the mother struggles to be,
And so does the father,
Theirselves, children struggle to be,
To see the new world, the fetus struggles,
To be a woman, and a wife, the girl struggles,
And so does the boy,
To be a man and a husband,
To be a graduate, the student struggles,
A guru, the teacher struggles to be,
A master the servant struggles to be,
Even life itself struggles to be lived,
What a paradox!

At dawn, struggles begin and continue till dusk,
From sunrise to sunset,
They are ever present,
At birth , they start up and end at death,
At last, there is a place void of struggles-the grave!

THIS LOVE I SPEAK OF...

I think it's the strongest force known,
Breaking through obstacles and limitations, uniting people, but yet to some, it's unknown,
A thing so beautiful but yet mysterious, I still try to comprehend,
Sometimes it continues for eternity, without an end,
But this love I speak of is one beyond the flesh,
It's love built on that which the eyes sees but the heart feels,
A love so real, it is agape,
A love so strong, it is immortal,
It's a love that cares for its own,
A love that will never hurt its own,
A love that transcends mortality,
And a love that knows no infidelity,
Such is the love I speak of,

Sometimes it begins with a look,
Sometimes it starts with a wink,
At other times it starts at first sight,
And continues with an unending flight,
But when it starts it is often soulful,
When it begins it remains faithful,
A love that appreciates,
A love that celebrates,
Protects its own union with distinction,
And envies not another's possession,
A love so pure,
A love so true,
A love that knows no betrayal,
And speaks no denial,
It's not lust,
It's not defined by sex- it's beyond carnality,
Neither is it expressed by one night stands-it's beyond promiscuity,
It's a love that cares for its own,
A love that doesn't hurt its own,
A love that transcends mortality,
And a love that knows no infidelity,
Such is the love I write of.

MY WAY BY LYSIOUS.wmv

VOICE OF A POET (A POEM) BY LYSIOUS.wmv

REST IN PEACE!

Sometimes in life we search our whole lives for that special one,
For that one true love made specially for us and sent us from above,
Then we find them, we give our hearts to them, grateful that our quest is finally done,
They become a part of us, a functional part of being, the only bearers of our true love,
And everyday we pray to God that they will never leave us, not while we are alive,
But just when we think all is well, we are visited by the cold arms of death,
The inevitable end which we all must face-snatching from us the lives of our loved ones, ending their breath,
We ask why, why they have to go too soon,
But with the pains in our hearts, the sorrows in our lives, and the tears in our eyes,
As we stand by the graveside, all we can say is Rest in Peace!

Baby everyday I ask God why, why you have to go so soon,
Everyday I look to the skies hoping they'll give me an answer,
I look to the mountains and wish they will tell me why you have to leave,
And I stare across the seas, hoping their waves would bring your spirit back to live again,
My life is worthless without you,
Just how am I supposed to live now that you're gone,
Just how are the kids going to cope now that you're gone,
But in the midst of all this, I know you are better on the other side,
So all I can say to your precious soul is Rest in Peace!
For I know we would survive, though it's hard,
But please Rest in Peace, and don't worry about us,
For one day, when our mortality comes to an end,
In a place where the skies are always blue,
A place where the day is always new,
Where the seas are always calm,
And the trees are always friendly,
We shall meet again, and be united for eternity,
So please rest in peace, for though there is a hole in my heart,
I know our souls cannot be torn apart,
Well done honey, you have lived a good life,
And I'll continue from where you stopped,
The children miss you,
Your family misses you,
I miss you,
So till we meet again, baby,
Please Rest in Peace!