A Man of Words

(For Prof. Tony Afejuku)

Prof. Tony Afejuku

LET words pour forth
For he sold words for a living
Let words become drums
For he danced with words
Let words become bullets
For he fought with words
Let words become prayers
For he interceded for the downtrodden
Let words become maps
For he guided us with words

You are a man of seasoned words with which you fought
Mongers of mendacity
Where are those who sell hollow words for a living?
They recline on the ledge of lies and like the tongue of the sun, they are licked.

Let words serenade his exit
Bring forth letters, words, phrases, sentences and clauses
To escort this man of thought and memory

You make melodies with words
You rhyme words round sense
You build words into rhythms of resonance

As you dance into memory
We cling to your enduring words in A Garden of Moods
As you dance into tomorrow
We hold on to your thoughts
In An Orchard of Wishes
As you dance away merrily
We sing your words in
A Spring of Sweets.

* Odia, who teaches at the Department of English and Literature at the University of Benin, Benin City, eulogises Prof. Tony Afejuku, his former teacher and colleague on his retirement