Contemplation on Ogunda Ogbe ( Ogunda gbede )

We are all

wounded birds

Of a sort

Filled with insecurities 

Collected like stale

Breadcrumbs

Scattered after so many

Failed attempts 

to find our

Way 

It is our

Nature

To seek

Answers 

It's what makes us

Human

Look inward and

realize

your faults 

and mistakes

but remember

Don’t shoot the 

messenger

Contemplation on the Odu Ofun Meji (orangun meji)

Time is a commodity
that becomes
more rare
with each passing
moment
God is a fickle merchant
with an endless supply
only distributing
small portions
to any given
traveler
Wanton and
indiscriminate
we don’t know
how much
we’ll get
our allotment revealed
only after it’s
run out
Every moment is a
gift
not to be squandered
Once it's gone
It’s gone
forever

-- written to arvo part Spiegel im spiegel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZe3mXlnfNc

Contemplation on the Odu Iwori Meji

What is Ifa?
Ifa is not joy
nor is it suffering
but both simultaneously
Ifa is never easy
Initiation into Ifa may be a
joyous celebration
but the true practitioner
leaves this state quickly
only to realize that
Ifa is a tremendous burden
Ifa is like the yoke thrown
upon an ox who
plows forward hoping to make
dry earth yield a crop
that will nourish the
soul of the world

Contemplation on the odu Okanran Ofun (okana fun)

I am
numb
words
can not
hide
the grief
or console
the pain
It permeates
every breath
taken by this
wounded nation
We are held
in the arms of a
Golem
molded with the ashes of
burned promises
and
crushed dreams
created by invisible masters
who's hidden agenda
is known by
few
but felt by
many
I hope this Golem
will not destroy us
but it is fed by
hate
fear
rage
and
anger
the true four horseman
of the apocalypse
I can hear their approach
in the deafening cheers
for the Golem
in our midst
Love will continue to be
a stranger here
until we destroy
the golem
in each of
us

Contemplation on the Odu Oyekun Meji

If I could bend 

time

I would bend it

backwards

to capture that first 

moment

like fireflies in a 

bottle

that I could carry with
me 

so bright that 

whenever

i found myself in the 

shadows

I could pull them 

out

and break through the

darkness

illuminating my path

forward

When those days

come

and you know they

will

remember to close your

eyes

and when all seems

dark

pull out your

bottle

and let the fireflies of your

life

shine

--- Created while listening to "Awake my soul" - Mumford and sons https://soundcloud.com/courtneynicolebruner/mumford-sons-awake-my-soul  2SB

Contemplation on the Odu Irete Ogbe (ategbe)

You asked me
how is it
that I found myself
sitting
atop the mountain
and there is only one
answer
I can give
It is not I
that sits on the
mountain
but the mountain
that has formed beneath
me
Tectonic shifts raised me
as storms
eroded and sculpted
the ground
leaving me with
sweeping vistas
of life
I do not sit on the
mountain
I am the mountain

contemplation on the odu osa meji

Sometimes the fog of life
impairs one's ability to
see the sun shining...