Urhobo My Souvenir

I pride myself that I am of the Urhobo nation
And I stand corrected to hold that Urhobo is a nation
If I am to be with God in the next creation
I will suggest that Urhobo be a planet of its own.

As steadfast as I hold my religion
So also do I take my tradition
Not because I am a puritan
No. I am a lover of my roots.

I take my souvenir everywhere I go
And people wonder why
Even when unity in my souvenir seems bleak
And peace in the land looks elusive.	

Yet I take my souvenir everywhere
Because it makes me creative
One, because of its long neglect
And
My people, my people
As they do not want to eschew violence
And no one wants to compromise his position.

There is hope 
Because I can make my souvenir 
A better company
Not by re writing history
Nor by changing tradition
But with God’s benediction
By affecting legislation.

-- Arierhie Patrick Okuneh

Copyright ©2003 Arierhie Patrick Okuneh