AN ELEGY WRITTEN FOR AN ANCIENT TOWN TURNED SITE
Udanre.
The mother hill
rocky steps lay stubborn weed carpets
whose tendons are firm grip for
curious epicureans boots as eyes are caught the hills' awe and mum to her mountains moan.
The roofless rest point, has a wondrous shame, consoling dropping jaws with the hills' awesomeness to forget the pains of devoid mountain rest.
ii
A green snake slithered on the cautious path, as some hilly billy galloped
on the hinterland, while the Agama stared too like fog on the wall of the unreadable letterings.
Perhaps saying to the ogling eyes in their bewilderment,
“Here lies an ancient city, a crumbling beauty, yet a sight."
It nods its head, wiggled its scaly body away, and a yellow head passerine chirps for a requiem.
iii
A crowd of green cactuses have all your names.
The old mud palace dated when you all came, lusting at the prewesternization effigies, as their wooden slits, echoed for clothes not pictures. You've shamed them, once more.
At the foot, the bribed fun beclouded your mind from the ruin of an ancient hilly city in an Ondo town.
Udanre (The dialectal spelling Idanre): The Idanre Hills is one of the notable tourist site in Nigeria. The tourist site is famously known for being the ancient city the people of old Idanre lived before coming down from the hills to settle at the foot of the hills. Landmarks in the hills are; the first primary school built in 1896, the Owa's Palace, The Old Court House, Burial Grounds, Thunder Water, and Agboogun footprint.
Seye words have appeared in Brittle Paper, Afro Rep, New Note Poetry, Afrocritik, Scrawl Place, and elsewhere. Find him on Twitter @ohxeye.