Contemplation on the Odu Odi Oyekun

Why
do our minds need to be lead
like puppies being taken out for a walk.
Why
do we follow blindly
words spoken centuries ago
written and re-written
translated and re-translated
a game of spiritual telephone
where letter and spirit are misunderstood.
Why
do we fear change
yet change so rapidly
that we barely keep pace
leaving many behind.
So it is that
Unchained
we become slaves to messiahs
Untethered
we become bound by dogma
Unlocked
we close the door.
Is it only after we have lost sight
that we can truly see?
Or
can we simply close our eyes
and look within
to find the truth of love.

Contemplation on the Odu Osa Oturupon

I don't know where we'll go
I can't say what will happen
I won't tell you it will be ok
in the end.
Because I don't know.
Even if I'm cradled in the embrace of a religion
I can't say for sure that those arms are real
and not just something I dreamt.
I may someday awaken
to find myself alone in a dark cold room
whose only windows are my imagination.
Regardless, I can tell you this,
no matter what lies ahead
I am here now
as you are
and I will try to make this place better
as should you
Not through the arrogance of presuming
to have found the only path to salvation
but instead by caring for those that are weak
listening to those that are lonely
feeding those whose bellies are empty
and conquering sadness with joy.
Live now
with an eye to tomorrow
and a remembrance of the past
so that you don't walk in circles
but instead towards the infinite

Contemplation on the Odu Oshe Okanran ( Oshe Okana )

I made some pasta for your mind

so you could noodle on the complexities of life

It's for you, so I had to make everything from scratch

It began with some flour, ground to a fine powder by hard work

To which I added salt dried from the sweat of your brow

an egg born of the spirit of your creation

and the water from a tear of sadness

after kneading it slowly

thoughtfully

I spread this knowledge across a board and carefully cut the noodles that I would share

But far from done, I placed it all in a pot of turbulent and boiling waters

from which emerged a perfect meal, nourishing and rich

Still not done

I added tomatoes ripened sweet with age

Basil for character and complexity

and pepper, for a little heat

Gingerly, I place it in front of you

steam dancing across the air

aroma wafting past your nose

let it melt on your palette

this bowl of life

that it may leave you nourished, satisfied and full

Contemplation on the Odu Odi Irosun ( Odi Iroso )

Close your eyes my love
and open your heart
so that it might spill upon
the canvas laid bare before you
revealing with each stroke
answers to questions not yet asked
hoping to make sense of it all
through fantastical visions
of the impossible and possible
intertwined like lovers in a tryst
hoping that tomorrow
will bring solutions
to the problems of yesterday
only to awaken to the potential
that a new day brings.

Contemplation on the Odu Iwori Ogunda ( Iwori Aweda ) inspired by Bibo Bo Aozora (Ryuichi

I stared at idols
hoping to see my soul
I wore shiny trinkets
hoping to be protected from the world
I spent my savings
hoping to attain knowledge
I listened to blind adoration
hoping to feel humility
I watched celebrations
hoping to find joy
I sang songs of praise
hoping to reach the heavens
I observed states of ecstasy
hoping to feel a spark
I prayed for enlightenment
in the midst of all this activity
and found myself alone
in a crowd of believers
only to realize
the futility of the search.
Enlightenment is simply
the peace we find
appreciating every moment

Contemplation on the Odu Odi Irete

disillusion can either
break your spirit
or set you free
whether person, religion or ideal
the crumbling tower upon which it was built
will either crush you under the weight of its broken promises
or if you can run fast enough to avoid the collapse
free your eyes to see the beautiful vistas
once hidden by the ideals built like stone temples
casting shadows over your eyes and shielding you from the light
Pick up your wings and fly
so that you might see beyond
and decide for yourself
which temple to worship at

Contemplation on the Odu Ogbe Otura

We are in an eternal battle to find balance
in a world where adding or subtracting
always results in odd numbers
Master sometimes rejects human nature
to abdicate the thrown
and submit to another
Slave sometimes gives in to human nature
and when given power
becomes the master previously reviled
our eternal struggle to find balance
belies our inability to actually find it
or
is balance not about equality at all
but the search for that point at which
the powerful are not so powerful that
the powerless slip off the scales
perhaps
balance is about not allowing the scales to tip wildy
making only small shifts this way and that
slowly creating a sustainable middle way