ADE OLA

TAKE CHARGE
Shall we stand
To watch the stream –
Watch it drying
And die of thirst?

Shall we play
And joke with time –
Watch it wasted
And mourn it lost?

Shall we cease
To use our hands –
Let it idle
And cry for achievement?

Shall we leave
The bush to grow –
Let to grow
Then snakes to host?

TWO SIDES
The thread that sew
The farmer’s gown
Can sew the king’s robe too.
The pen that wrote
The rich’s history
Could do the poor’s own too.

Same tongue
That praises the great men
Curses the tyrant too.
Same rain
That nurse for us palm-date
Nurse us bitter-leaves too.

With teeth, the dogs
Delight their kids;
With it, they bite them too.
With hands, the potter
Moulds a vase;
With it, he crushes too.

That soul that thinks
Of evil deeds
Can think of goodness too.
That soil that lay
The servant-maid
Shall lay the master too.

For things are found around in pairs
Twos and in twos, twos like the ears.

PRICE BEFORE A PRIZE
England
            …before English

It's land before the language!


Diamond
             …before Jewellery

It's ore before the iron!


Night
       …before the day
It’s dusk before the dawn!


Price
      …before a Prize
It's work before achievement!