TOTEM (for Her Highness, Zaynab Otiti Obanor) I — By Balogun Yusuf Gemini

TOTEM
(for Her Highness, Zaynab Otiti Obanor)

Ifa is a corpus,
the last gift Orunmila got from the Creator -
the divinity. the prophecy.
The gods are errand boys,
the bridge between the earth and beyond - 
the crown is the deputy,
Alase Ekeji orisa -
the Oonirisa,
the powers that be.

Uneasy,they do say -
lies the head that wears a crown -
ori ti o maa d'ade,
inu agogo ide ni ti n wa.
Orun to maa lo igba ileke,
inu agogo ide ni ti n wa.
Kara-ibadi ti o so ileke iyun,
mo sebi inu agogo ide ni ti n wa.
Equity is the principle that guides life,
not equality.

The common man
and the royalty,
drank from a tap -
rooted from a source -
sprouted from an harem -
they both have footprints,
they both can run -
but not from their shadows..
what distinguish a man and the crown,
is the other realm -
the spirit world.

The king -
the husband of the witches,
the husband of the genies,
the husband of the women,
green. black. yellow.
oba lo nile,
all that be -
belongs to the king -
his control remains on the formidable humans, 
not the gods that enthroned him.
And the moment one kisses the king,
she become a goddess.
Then, the clash of the titans.. 
a power clash.
Or how would two souls,
stand upright in place of a soul ?

Click here to read the complete poem