Peace Ogunjemilua presents “A Tale of Waters”, a poem that takes us to Ikogosi, in southwest Nigeria, where a warm spring and a cold one meet. Rather than treating the confluence simply as nature’s marvel, Peace’s verses turns to the myth behind it: the two wives of one hunter, whose rivalry outlives him until the currents finally collide and merge. Yoruba proverbs thread through the English verse, which the poet describes as “Ikogosi’s eulogy.” One does not need to parse every verse to feel the poem’s pull, which closes with the wish to drown in Fela Kuti’s song.
A Tale of Waters
—after reading The wonders of Ikogosi
Ìkọgòsì olómi méèjì takọ-tabo
Omi ni mo tẹ̀ kí n’tó tẹ yarìn
I
I was born where waters meet—
a peaceful confluence,
where separate hearts converge
like hot rage embracing cool resolve.
Olómi lílọ́ wọ́rọ́wọ́
Bí orùǹ ìyálẹ̀ta
II
Splish-splash downhill,
Àwòn flowed from the briskness of her soul
to stir up rattling imaginations.
chasms could not stop her.
Olómi tútù nininini
Bí àmúrẹ̀fú ìsàlẹ̀-àmù
III
Whoosh! a passing breeze was Àwèlé,
mild as heaven’s ambience.
she seeps fresh air
simmering passion on my skin.
Itọ́ tó ó yaya lẹ́nu òkúta
Ó di gbùrú-gbàrá ń’sàlẹ̀ odò
IV
Long ago, they were not just waters —
Àwọn and Àwèlé,
two mothers, wives to one hunter,
sharing a roof, a name, a fate.
And like many tales,
peace turned to pride,
their rift echoed through the hills,
until the hunter was gone
and only the rivalry stayed,
running downhill in two separate currents.
Ìsìrẹ́bà kárí ayé
Bí labalábá aláṣọ àràmàndà
V
One day, they met to clash,
but harmonious desires glued them
to be inseparable.
that glue was the death blow,
bringing down resistance in haste.
Omi ò l’ọ̀ọ́tá
VI
Water no get enemy
I want to drown in Fẹlá Kutì’s song,
And feel the froth whisper into my pores
forever and a day —
the burning flames of ageless flow.
