Color of Water

Celebrating Nigeria's 51st Independence Anniversary


Come on over here,
Let me shake your hand.
Do you have one minute?
Can you sit a spell with me?

I know the heart has journeyed from present;
Troubadours of imagination over-keening
Relics of that undiscovered country

I’ll show you the meaning of Africa
Ease you into my lil’ secret, soul brother;

I know
         the color
                   of water.

A river serenades the streets of the cities;
Two rivers in unbroken swells sync into unity’s axis.
The rains you witness forerun the breakers of prophecy.
Ain’t it all so clear for you to see?

Hey, Beautiful, you must be from my country.
You ain’t flauntin’ marks of a tribe over your identity,
You’re sprung on a dialect of 300; your swagger’s a culture of peace.

Say, you sure, you ain’t from Nigeria?
Come and I’ll fill you in on a wee secret, soul sister;

I fetched
          the color
                    of water.

I never forget a color.
Han, han, not this one.
It’s the instant image that springs up
At the mention of you.

The flush of green sprayed over your landscape
That reaches out thro’ you.

See?
I never forget a color.
I open the door and reality hit me like a hammer.
I saw stars and I saw the color…
                                       of water.

I know the color of water
And it sure as the next sunrise ain’t tribal;

I know
          the color
                    of water

It’s West African sepia.


Author’s Note:
I know the heart has journeyed from present – Wole Soyinka
That Undiscovered Country – William Shakespeare referring to the future.
West African sepia – Wole Soyinka, Telephone Conversation
Soul brother/sister - A nod to Chinua Achebe's Beware, Soul Brother