I think I heard the sound of a halting fleet
I think the breeze has blown around my wrinkled brow
The aura of my child
Go look above the hanging hills
Search the valleys and comb the wood
Is there any glance of my child coming?

Aha... There he comes
When the hawk cried before the dawn
And the swallows whistled long into dusk
I knew my child will come

Its been a year since you left
I've prayed daily that life bring you back in peace
See my walls have risen
The harvest bumper
And my barns are full

I have kept a moon for you
Welcome home!

I heard you cross the Niger
To the banks of Benue
I heard you dared the storms
And brave the flames
You basked in the heat of Makurdi’s sun
And danced in the rain of Wurukum
The kembes of Wannune can't stop you
You've even learnt how to survive the daggers of herdsmen
There is nothing that can stop you now
Welcome home my child

Come and sit before this hearth
Where your aching feet is warm
Share with me the kola nut of life
It will make you understand wisdom in this world

Some things will never change
Like the strips on the zebra skin

Some tears will never dry
Like those rivers running into the sea

Some people never dies
Like the golden names on the history slates

Some prayers are never answered
Like those of the royal roses grassing the desert plans

Life has limit within its stretches
It won't always tilt the good way

Love life's unfolding with thanks
And accept people for who they are

The past is gone
Tomorrow is always unknown
So live now
Live today

Life may turn its cruel sides
Fence of confidence sometimes fall 
Empires crash when dreams seems twisted

Those times you want to scream
You want to spit out all your sadness
Weeping is allowed at times
After all, tears is that part of us
That steadies the sail of our souls in the storm

Yet tears don't heal every wound
They only glitter the shores of pains

Life is cruel to some and fair to none
It seldom gives reasons to smile

When the going gets tough
And it seems hardest to smile
Always remember this

Storms by nature don't last
So do every pain and worry
Hold your peace my child
That darkness too will pass

You don't know where this life will take you
Maybe far from this rotten mat
To those ivory lands behind mighty mountains
Beyond the vast and boarderless sea
Wherever you are
However far you may go from here
Never forget the wisdom of your root

Those who run blindly after the world
Run quickly out of the world
Don't drink from the cup of ambition to the dreg
Don't haunt too much for power and beauty
There is neither peace nor end to that road

Some will underestimate you
Avoid them
Some will exaggerate you
Ignore them
If the blood be red and the hands be clean
There will be no mountains on your path
That will be too high to climb

Rise my child
From the feet of my fathers
Travel into your destiny
Chose your fate and captain your soul
With love in your heart
Wisdom in your head
And honesty on your hands

You may wonder where this life's wandering is taking you
But always remember
Good things will come to you too
Never forget your humble origin
The child of who you are

© Olatuja Oloyede