The Oba Does Not Die Poem by Okoemu Okoemu Okoemu

When the Oba stops to breathe
You will see a procession
Filing from the inner chamber
The Oliha leading, with his eyes looking afar
The Iyase following singing a song
That demands no drums
And requires no dance
A music that pierces the heart and soul
To be heard and all will know
The Oba is now in the ways of his ancestors.

Esogban folds his arms
Facing the earth, in tears
without tears from his eyes
And Esomon's heart heavy
He faces the sky
where the Oba has gone
And the priest, follows,
his mind with the gods;
What next?

The Oba does not die
The voice of Iyase, sings to the earth
And then they know the Oba
has stops to breathe
Because the Iyase sings
And it was not a song of dance
For it was without drums
And the jester was no more funny.

The women are in the harem
Wailing without making sounds
Crying, not bold to let down tears.

In the palace
Even livestocks refuse to come to field
And in summer
Rain falls all through
The sky rumbles
As thunder struck
And lighting flashes
Because the Oba is on a journey
A journey of no return.

The kingdom is still
No woman gives birth
No child is born
And no one dares to die
No one dares to marry
Everyone is not in mourning
Nor in merriment
Because the Oba is on a journey.

Unlike the king of Spain
Who can die
Or the Queen of England who will die
Unlike every other,
The Oba does not die
He lives forever and ever more
Without breathing
Because he journeyed to join the ancestors.

-Okoemu Okoemu Okoemu