By
Ngozi Olivia Osuoha
THE LABOUR OF OUR HEROES PAST
Dazzling, crystal like a golden eagle
Young, green like a green eagle
Gentle, calm like a super eagle
Confident, relaxed like the big boss
Hopeful, lively like tomorrow
Keshi, you broke my heart.
You were better than an idol
Taller, higher than an icon
More conspicous than a beacon
Wider than a model
Wonderful like a citadel
The captain, the coach, the champ.
Your smile charmed defeat
Your courage shone on a glass house
You exhumed classy aura
None expected that you bow now
Our first world cup, you were there
Rasheed Yekini, Uche Okafor
A squad too unique to be gone,
Sam Okoye, Sam Okwaraji, Shaibu Amodu
A battalion too sophisticated to be conquered.
The flight of death crashed your fight
The plight of nature took your sight
The pain outweighs the gain
Yet the gain stampedes the pain,
A hole worse than a vacuum
An abyss so unfathomable;
You left in our heart.
Bore the cross of a boss with less loss
Shone dignity and integrity
Half mast flags, twenty gun-salute
Medals of honour, immortalization
All; some volumes and editions
You remain a statue and of monument
You shattered the domain of sports
Stephen, the football martyr.
I wished you became a sports’ minister
To fix the pieces of the glass house
I wished you became a soccer god
Or like adidas, puma and nike
I wished you became a better Bora
Or a mightier Clement Westerholf
I wish your wife never died
I wish you were never gone,
Left unannounced, unprepared
Keshi, you broke our heart.
More than a hero
Far, yet close like a friend
This tune of june
Heavy pain, heavy heart, heavy ink
Delta, Nigeria, Africa, the world
This piece is so empty
Because Keshi broke my heart.
My Captain, My Coach
My Boss, My Legend
You were a patriot so sound
A compatriot so resounding
If you still have eyes
You would see us devastated
We pray you find perfect peace
Stephen, a saint from his labour, rests.
IN MEMORY OF SOK (1962-2016) AND ALL OUR FOOTBALL LEGENDS WHO FELL ASLEEP
RELIGION ANGEL LUCIFER
Building beautiful castle
Writing wonderful epistle
Preaching amazing peace
Teaching confusing piece,
Singing melodiously to God
Living harmoniously to sword
Praying earnestly for doom
Hoping entirely for gloom,
Working assiduously on blood
Sweeping men like flood,
The book of quiver
The litany of fever,
Religion, angel lucifer.
Unkind to mankind
Ugly like a buly
Hater and cheater
Blindness for godliness
Wayward and untoward
Deceiver and betrayer,
Wicked and crooked
Protester and waster
Heartless and meaningless
Rebel and babel
Killer and destroyer
Harmful and lustful
Religion, angel lucifer.
Chained, a slave
Cuffed, a suspect
Locked, a prisoner
Bound, a captive
Stranded, a stranger
Hopeless and helpless
Wreckless and restless
Confused and conquered
Wondering and wandering
Guilty and unpretty,
Hunted and haunted
Taunted and tormented
Weird and absurd
Religion, angel lucifer.
