Contemplation on the Odu Oshe Owonrin ( oshe niwo )

There is a certain beauty

In this bowl of soup

Steam floating in the air

Warning me not to be too eager

Lest my lips suffer

And my tongue scald

Depriving me of its sweetness

There is wisdom there

Giving me pause

Allowing the words to dance in the air

Unfolding this way and that

Like a child chasing bubbles

I bob and weave

Hoping to capture even one

Without shattering the illusion of its

Existence

Then there is you

The softness in your lips

The warmth in your hug

The sureness in your eyes

Are you my bubble

Or am I yours 

Contemplation on Ofun Meji ( orangun meji )

If I told you today
What will happen tomorrow
You’d think me mad
If what I told you was
Tomorrow doesn’t exist
You’d think me insane
And yet
For all our desire to
Know
Tomorrow is only an illusion
Created to help us feel control
Over something that is completely
Unpredictable
God
Is
Our
Tomorrow
Embracing us
Today

Contemplation on the Odu Oshe Ofun (ose fun)

The structure of love

Is such that

In its presence

We can endure the weight of the world

Filled with the warmth of a thousand suns

We are

Weightless

Yet in its absence

Even a feather can seem too much to bear

Chilled through to our very core

We are

Lost

Thankfully there is no life 

Without at least some love

So we must

Learn to find the love

That surrounds us

As well as the

Love that lives

Within us

So that we might

Once again

Fly free

Contemplation on the Odu Ofun Iwori

Where are you

My middle class

You are missed

With you there was

Some semblance of

Imperfect balance

I tried to warn you

As you worshipped at the

Alter of consumerism

Praying to the capitalist prophets

Who bought your souls

For shiny trinkets and

The promise of more

Sold a false hope

Your place at the

Head of the table is

All but guaranteed to

Never happen

Leaving you outside

Fighting for scraps

With the growing number of

Poor and nearly poor

The irony in this all is

You believed your skin

Would save you

It did not

Now you too are

Ripe for radicalization

For discontent has no color

A fat animal is lazy

A desperate animal is dangerous

Which one are you?

Contemplation on the odu obara okanran (obara okana)

Blind faith

Is a man with no tongue

Boldly proclaiming that the excrement he eats

Is the worlds rarest and tastiest meal

Based only on what he is told

By a man starving to death

Contemplation on the odu Iwori Odi

I thank you

It’s not exactly a new lesson

But a reminder nonetheless

There will always be another 

You

Happy to play the game

While it suits you

Lamenting on life

Unloading your burden

Regaining your spirit

Nourishing yourself off the

Energies of others

Until that moment when

Composure regained

Confidence restored

You no longer need my eyes

To gaze upon your reflection

Shoulder turned cold

Now that you’ve found a new

Distraction

No hard feelings

You live unaware

I know better

Farewell 

Narcissus

Contemplation on the Odu Obara Odi (obara idi)

Let go of someday
Embrace today
Lest you find yourself
Trapped in a room
Stacked floor to ceiling with
Unfinished plans
Unable to find the door
To your own freedom