Jàre Àjàyí

I have a date to keep

At the ancestral grove

Housing the secret of the vessel

I must be back home

To re-learn from the wordsmith

Each of the thousand yarns in the loom

I have traversed the world

And now know all the roads of the Universe

I have opened pages of many books

And read them cover to cover

I have spoken tongues upon tongues

And competed with the songbird

But the native slang I once knew

Now limps in my throat

The family road I used to tread

Is what I now grope for

Who will guide my step?

A literary award winner, Jàre Àjàyí is a poet, critic, novelist and journalist. Former arts, reviews and culture editor of Nigerian Tribune, Àjàyí is the former Assistant Secretary General of the Association of Nigerian Authors.