Nostalgia
(when we passed through Etche)
Through the frigid terrain
our car sliced
Each palm, once a stranger
now beckons and sways
A wayfarer’s weary feet,
trumpet the long-awaited return
My gaze, fixed on the window,
captures fleeting snapshots.
Home, too, yearns
for the nomad’s triumphant homecoming
As streets whisper tales
of an embrace long overdue
Here, I declare it,
this is home, and I am its herald
What rivals the euphoria
of retracing one’s steps homeward?
Where every reed pirouettes
in the innocence of joy
Their feet once strayed
from the cradle of their birth
In their revelry,
they twirl under the grace of Zephyrs
Each surge of our car echoes
the nomad’s jubilant reunion.
Amidst the tug of home
and the wanderer’s return,
Home pilfers elation
from the nomad and his weary soles,
He carries with him
the chronicles of his wandering,
Where home beckons
and the nomad’s feet answer.
Kogi
You cradle your travellers in glee
With hands of water &
The expanse of your land
Satisfying the sojourner’s palate
With fish and the flavour of the confluence
As The Niger brings you, gods and goddesses
To your land to feast on a bounty
Each one with its own basket full of history
Each with its own bowl full of fishes
Bringing tidings of hope amidst a troubled past
Abuja
Abuja arrived with the dawn’s dusty embrace
Nostalgia clinging to what remains of me
Its gentle whispers caress my skin
Reminding me, the traveller of rocks,
Valleys, mountains, and lofty aspirations
Perched upon its grassy plateau
Halima, the kind Hausa soul I encountered, asked,
Are you practising Yoga in this foreign land?
Perhaps because I sat like one in the pose
Of a yogi amidst unfamiliar terrain
Seeking the presence of being or divinity
As I scanned the dust-laden skies for warmth
Yearning for the sun to thaw my frozen feet
In pursuit of the testimony of my lofty aspirations
Abuja, your name reverberates power within the stones
Every stone I glimpse whispers to me
Here lies the nucleus and potency of your aspirations.
John Chinaka Onyeche is a Nigerian writer of colour (BIPOC) and historian from Etche in Rivers State. A History and Diplomatic Studies graduate, he is dedicated to ensuring that the full scope of history is accurately represented. His writing can be found in various journals, including: Charles University, Prague, Ebedi Review, Overtly Lit, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, McNeese University, Pier Review University of Brighton, Tilted House Journal, Akewi Magazine, and Brittle Paper. Connect with him on Twitter @Apostlejohnchin.
Cover photo: slightlyworn
