ECHOES AT IDOTO
for chris and us all
suddenly
fields grow as sounds bellow
verses echo
okigbo’s chants
no longer will collected thoughts
stop at few pages
for a lengthening grows
from idoto’s river
as spirits bestride the trove
let the wind whisper words
let the sands salute spirits
the river renew rites
at heaven’s gate
new verses and old merge
as rivers flow
testimony to waters
of that one who now has blessed us all
ending even imagined drought…
suddenly
there’s a shrill…
fields grow as sounds bellow
the elephants march
silencing every tertrach
there’s an echo…
and our hearts beat the verse
Su’eddie Vershima Agema is an editor and development worker. He has three poetry collections including Home Equals Holes: Tale of an Exile (Joint-Winner, Association of Nigerian Authors Poetry Prize 2014) and a short story collection, The Bottom of another Tale (Shortlist Abubakar Gimba Prize for Short Stories 2015). Su’eddie also won the Mandela Day Short Story Prize 2016. He blogs at http://sueddie.wordpress.com @sueddieagema on Twitter and Instagram. He can also be reached at eddieagema@yahoo.com. He writes from different cities of Mbanor, Nigeria.
