Urhobo
Historical
Society
In
Memory of Ộsẹmẹ
By
Ochuko Tonukari
I do not think of you lying in the wet clay
Of Erivwin ;
I see
You walking down a lane among the poplars
On your way to the station, or happily Going for Mass on a Sunday--
You meet me and you say:
'Don't forget to tread the path of Omamoruruemu--'
Among your earthiest words the angels stray.
And I think of you walking along a headland
Of green oats in June,
So full of repose, so rich with life--
And I see us meeting at the end of Isiokolo
on a fair
night where you gave up the ghost,
After the bargains are all made and we can walk
Together through the shops and stalls and markets
Free in the oriental streets of thought.
O you are not lying in the wet clay of Erivwin,
For it is harvest evening now and we
Are piling up the ricks against the moonlight
And you smile up at us � eternally.