Excerpts from my "Murdered In Buckingham Palace" poetry anthology

Happy Birthday
Olorogun! Olorogun!! Olorogun!!!
We salute your humility
It is not easy to clock seventy
These days of incredibilities,
Says sun, stars and moon
Every time he edges his steps
Seas erupt with joyous stirs
Volcanoes quench their anger
Winds whisper with wonder
At his elegant simplicity
And liberal loveliness to humanity,
With his wealth of mighty blue happiness
Spreading in sky,
But his humble nature
You can’t catch a clue
That he bought any bicycle, blue,
His love paints places blue blue blue
With hope and happiness news
Yet he doesn’t arrogantly argue
Neither painting nor scattering sky with pride
Like some folks quake, rake, shake
Everywhere, causing earthquakes
For just clutching some crumbles of cakes.
We praise your honorificabilitudinity
Olorogun abo vworo vworo
Shining in sky
As your names depict: Olorogun M.C.O. Ibru
When we look at sky
Your name is there
When we look at seas
Your name is there
When we look everywhere
Your names are there,
Many mountains and monuments shall pass away
But your name shall never pass away
Because it blends bluishly with sky, for ever.
Who can banish blue from sky?
We wish you great health
With many peaceful years ahead.
Hip! Hip!! Hurrah!!

The Cardiovascular King
(Dedicated to Kanu Nwankwo)
His shots are sometimes accompanied by gun powder dust
Sending opponents lingeringly lost
His penchant for electrifying ball caressing
Is his pendant of real identity romancing
A technical exploit unconventionally uncommon
Keeping defenders adrenaline ceaselessly on the run
While bubbles of joy dances on many faces
Of worshippers worshipping the round leather in all places
By mere back heeling with any of his ankles
Goalkeepers’ faces are blessed with bitter wrinkles
As the round leather rest inside the net
The gangling striker celebrate like a jet
Many hearts are thereby healed
By his cardiovascular massage from the field
Mounting to the King Kanu Heart Foundation
Saving souls without fingers of racial discrimination
If all could borrow a leaf from this saviour
The world would wave goodbye to all sufferings flavour.

Victor, Naomi living on
(For late Mr/Mrs. Victor Umoren)
Whose smiles could shine
Brighter than sun, moon and stars?
Though their clay has gone
I see, I saw, I see
Them smiling than the sun,
Speaking and sparkling than stars,
Magnificent mannerly than moon,
Their spirits smiles on,
Stamped and sealed in
Sun, moon, stars blood
In memory of your blood
Daily and nightly shining
While death is weeping shamefully
As you splendidly smile, living lovingly
In the sun smiling
In the moon merrily
In the stars stainlessly
As irresistible as wind;
You lovingly live with light
There, there is no night,
Am seeing your faces, smiling
From all satellites of sky,
Deadless and boundlessly alive,
Your love; lovely like Romeo and Juliet
But not like fighting families of Capulet and Montague,
Smile on and on.

(Mr. and Mrs. Victor Umoren died in a car crash that involved the convoy of the then Minister of Cooperation and Integration in Africa, Chief Dapo Sarumi on the Sangotedo stretch of Maroko-Epe Expressway, Lagos. The poem was publish by the defunct National Concord Newspaper on January 26th, 2001)