AN ADVICE FROM THE DEVIL I know that I am no longer holy Because for years, I have lost my glory I know that I am no longer an angel And I blame myself for being a fallen angel. I concur; I am the father of all liars Owing to my biblical affairs I know my name is Devil And without dispute I am the master of all evil. But with my ink coated with filth I write to the world now blessed with my guilt I know the bible nicknamed me the accuser of the brethren That’s why I am confronting you my earthly brethren. You draw the angels in white, so beautiful And coat their garments in spotless gold so wonderful But my image, you draw in black, very ugly And you forget that I was once an angel, very beautiful. When out of greed you steal And when caught and blamed for the ill You blatantly accuse me and say “It is the Devil” But did I stand beside you to perform the evil? In your greed too, you seek me for a blood money Because to you, money...

A POET TELLS NO LIES (POEM) His quill is divine And his voice is godly Vile is never synonymous with his tongue Neither does deceit gush out from his mouth. He is more eloquent than a chief priest that hears from the gods Because when his quill speaks, fire comes out And the gods wake up from their slumber to give rapt attention For a voice from the Great Deity has a message. He sees no white and calls it black Neither does he pay evil for good He is a Jurist without a judicial hammer But his quill sounds louder than a Monday hammer. He is a sacred cow that defiles all rituals The gods honour him and don’t even cross his boundary Because when they become humans in their deeds He dares them for a war with his quill. A poet tells no lies Even if a whip is brandished at his face But if he later changes and calls black white Know that Armageddon is no longer a mirage. ©Francis Onwuchuruba (02/09/2017) Twitter @Francisdpoet

YOUR OWN HADES WILL BE ‘HOTTER’ The devil is now holier than you After all he only enjoys the pain in his Hades And not seen parading with his long tail on the street To foment troubles between two brothers Or is he seen sucking blood like the vampire. The devil is busy preparing for you in the Hades Not to give you a red carpet welcome But to throw you into the ‘hotter’ region Because you’re now sinful than him; You commit sins that he never dared And have buried your conscience in the bottomless pit. When you orchestrate the killing of someone’s only ‘eye’ And you become a protector of yours even from whiling sand; When you exchange his blood for money So as to cruise G Wagon at the closer of the EMBER season And become a Chieftain in your village because of your bloody cash You think devil will welcome you happily in his Kingdom? ‘Na lie’; your own Hades will be ‘hotter’. You’re a lady but you have swallowed shame like a yummy meal As you parade the street al...

PEOPLE ARE MY WINGS I am a bird Created without wings My furs are light And my skin is open to the wind. My eyes are bright I’m focused like an eagle I see clearly even at night And the sun’s light never scares my vision So I’m both nocturnal and diurnal. I’m a singer Nightingales praise me too I sing morning and night I have no water I have no food But when I sing, my stomach is filled. Call me a mysterious bird I will concur with glee I’m not jealous because I admire other birds as they fly But as they fly, the melody from my poor mouth Attract them, and they thank God for my voice. On the Iroko’s zenith I aim to sing; A tree where the eagles dine A tree where all eyes begs to eye A tree where the angels pray that we attain But unfortunately not all attains. Daily I become kin to sing on its top Because I believe my voice has a hope Though still poor And having heard people around attesting to its melody As th...

WHY THE INNOCENT LAD? If you wanted a blood like a vampire That gulps down blood like a red wine Morning, afternoon and night Why not go to the abattoir where genuine blood is wasting? If you must shade the blood yourself Like ‘Dinta’ (hunter) that scouts for deer, rabbit and others in the forest Why not target one of the miscreant animals from the highlands That eats up our crops and fights our farmers to appease your blood thirst? Why targeting the innocent lad? Why spilling the blood of Somtochukwu Ibeanusi like unwanted red oil? Why desecrating Eke-Ukwu Market with his blood? Why causing others eternal injuries with your bullets? Do you want to attract the anger of the market gods? His blood, your riffle spilled His destiny, you untimely threw into the belly of death His family, you have forcefully fed with undying tears At ten, what sin has he committed against you? And yet you’re telling us no life was lost Why? (To condemn the shooting of an innocent lad...

WE ARE WAITING FOR YOUR BILLION BILLION We’re waiting for your billion billion We’re waiting for your million million That will be announced to us by your prophet; A messenger that is more truthful than the sinless angel. We’re waiting for your billion billion We’re waiting for your million million Because our ears are already itching After all, no truth or lies blocks the ears. We’re waiting for your billion billion We’re waiting for your million million You used to appease the raging rats That invaded your office while you tarried in your health excursion. We’re waiting for your billion billion We’re waiting for your million million You used to buy exotic ‘rat meals’ Instead of patronizing your sheep Hawking our Aba made ‘Otapiapia’ on the streets with empty stomachs. We’re waiting for your billion billion We’re waiting for your million million You used to sweep away the rats’ mess Plus their urines that using detol, water and your broom could have done the...

Apart from losing heaven, the greatest sin one commits against himself is not being poor or being uneducated but not making any positive impact of any kind that will make the world remember him after his demise. @Francis Onwuchuruba.