#ThinkOutLoud POETRY: THE VOICE OF JACOB – Osowe Oluwagbenga @gbengaosowe
To The One who-had-no-shoes

You were one of us
Or so were we made to think
With a sombre look and tales of a humble background
“Oh! Our Messiah has come” we cried
To save us from those who’d run us aground
But you lied, I say to you, you lied

We looked forward to the promised fresh air
The trial of crooks, looters and embezzlers
We longed for the day our judges would be fair
Applying the law, using it as a leveller
Showing partiality to no man, justice to one and justice to all
Oh! How painful that our hopes were set up for a fall

Your first steps were like a toddler’s
Wavering, wobbly, ours hope yet undeterred
He shouldn’t take hasty steps, lest we all suffer
All men have to learn was the excuse we offered
“For how long shall he learn?” was the question of the cynics
Be patient! Dear brothers, be patient!

“I don’t give a damn” you bellowed
The land is mine to rule, as I choose and prefer
Tingling sounds in our ears, minds reeling in disbelief
Our hearts cried, shedding tears not seen with eyes
Male and female, young and old
The future you place before us, not the same as we were promised of old

Your words of hope and transformation
Haunt me daily, in my sleep and even when awake
I remember your words, soothing and promising
But actions they say, speak louder than words
Your actions, biblical tales of deception, it makes me recall
Your words were sweet, like the smooth endearing voice of Jacob
Your hands and actions, rough and bruising just like Esau’s hairy hand

Like the Esau of old you sell our birthrights
For porridge at the hands of your friends and godfathers
Your love for food we all know
Even if your nephew Reuben claims it’s not so.
1 billion naira meals, in a 2 billion naira banquet room
Oh such fools that we were, to have been deceived by you

When the chronicles of your reign shall be written
And tales of your callous nature told
Stories of how you made corruption your watchword
And thieves your precious benefactors
Young ones shall learn how to avoid deception
And how to hear but not follow
An Esau coming like a Jacob.

I am @gbengaosowe