HUNGER IN HEAVEN poem by Simpa Omoluabi

Hunger in Heaven

Dagga the poet recalled a folktale to me…

It wasn’t just a recall for the recall was the essence of the folktale

The essence of it in our social-political plight

It was concerning an ancient quest the birds and the tortoise made to heaven 
An ancient folktale and I here elucidate on the words of Daga the poet.

Of course we all recall it so happened

The birds and the tortoise made a heavenly quest

When hunger and poverty bedeviled the earthland.

And there was a grand rule the grand rule is the constitution,

The constitution of how the dividends of heaven would be shared.

All the birds whom are the youthful ones the electorates and voters

Donated their feathers to the politician who is tortoise the politrickster

They donated their feathers to tortoise to lead them to heaven on earth 

Because there was so much hunger in the land.

All the birds donated their feathers,

Their feathers they donated to tortoise as votes of confidence

In making tortoise their spokesperson in the government of the kingdom of heaven on earth.

Their feathers were the votes cast in the ballot box

Their feathers were votes of confidence on tortoise the politrickster politician. 

When the birds had donated their feathers to the tortoise

The tortoise now looked more resplendent than all the birds 

The wings of the tortoise was a wing of many feathers

The wings of the tortoise was a wing of many colours

The wings of the tortoise were rainbow coloured, wings that made the Peacock jealous. 

The grand rules had being laid before the race began for the election

Before the running for the seats of government seats in the kingdom of heaven

For government is the kingdom of heaven

Government the supreme place of power in the land is kingdom of heaven;

So before the running of election began the grand rules were stated

And the grand rule on this occasion which was proposed by no other

But the tortoise was that everyone should take names

The tortoise said as for me given that I am a man of the people and for the people

What name should I take other than ‘For all of you’? The tortoise said my name is

‘For all of you’ because I am for all of you, that is my name, that is what I am. 

Then the running for election began for the kingdom of heaven

The electoral race began for the supreme power of government the kingdom of heaven 

And with their feathers the birds the youthful ones voted and did a lot of donation

For tortoise the politrickster politician,

And because of this vote of confidence

This large multifarous donation and vote from the birds the youthful ones

Tortoise was granted an endowment of the most powerful wings among

All those running to win first-place in the seat of government the kingdom of heaven.

Tortoise won the race won the first place and became winner at the end

Of the election race for the chief-seat of government the kingdom of heaven

And all the youthful ones were now glad for tortoise who says ‘I am for all of you’

For they hoped tortoise, whom they knew not was a politrickster,

Would now bring heaven down to their level on earth

The flightful ones the birds, the youthful ones who donated even their body for tortoise

The politician to get to the seat of power which is the kingdom of heaven

Hoped greatly on tortoise to bring heaven down to the level of the languishers of the earth

But they knew not tortoise was a politrickster.

While the hungry birds the youthful hungry ones hoped tortoise would now

Bring down to them heaven on earth, they were not prepared for the shock

Of their lives, when tortoise their spokesman and voice and representative

In the kingdom of heaven began giving them insights into the meaning

Of its name ‘For all of you’.

When tortoise got to heaven the youthful birds approached tortoise as to the bounties

Of the kingdom of heaven and they undoubtedly hoped tortoise would speak

Forthe good of all since tortoise’s has said to them  ‘I am for all of you’.

In the ancient folktale mother nature the distributor of all things

Brought out the bounties, the delicacies, andevery bit of it mouth watering

And Mother nature said to them, all this is for all of you.

After which the tortoise proceeded in speech ,

‘My country people my country people heard that.

My comrades my comrades did you hear that?’

And the comrades and the country people shouted:

“Yes! Mother-Father nature says it is for all of us!”

And the tortoise responded saying to them; “Again!”

And the comrades and the country people shouted again:

“Yes! Mother-Father nature says it is for all of us”.

And angrily the tortoise retorted:

“You all must be deaf! I say you all must be deaf, deaf as the dead!”

The comrades were shocked! The country peoples were shocked!

Tortoise the politrickster proceed with its speech,

“Mother-father nature did not say it is for ‘all of us’,

Mother-fathter nature said it is is for ‘all of you’,

I hope you’ve not forgotten my name is ‘All of you’ which is short for of ‘For all of you’,

Or what did I say before the race for the kingdom of heaven began,

I said I am for all of you’ and I am ‘For all of you’ which in short is also ‘All of you’

And that is what I said I am ‘For all of you’ or in short ‘All of you’,

And Mother-father nature said very clearly that every heavenly delicacy here is for

‘All of you’”. 

It was largely a matter of hunger for the birds, the youthful ones the electorates

For there was severe hunger in the land and they took to the path they thought

Would alleviate their hunger, by donating even as much as their body parts

For tortoise the politician, but on arrival at heaven where there is plenty

Plenty which was meant to be judiciously shared for all 

By the grand rules which is the constitution already manipulated before hand

To the dismay of the birds who went as far as donating their body parts for tortoise

To the dismay of the birds while tortoise the politrickster reigned there was hunger in heaven,

Tortoise for whom they donated their body parts.

Tortoise the politrickster enjoyed all the heavenly things

To the continuation of severe hunger, hungriness and starvation of the birds

Even in heaven where there was plenty they experienced hunger in heaven

All because it was tortoise in the heavenly seat of government,

The birds who had made tortoise resplendent suffered hunger in heaven

Suffered hunger amidst plenty, so there was massive hunger in heaven. 

The tortoise who goes on the mount for more than an

Immeasurable length of time such that we fall asleep

Even to the sleep of death, the tortoise would remain on the mount wishing to die there,

Never wanting to dismount from the position of heavenly pleasures.

The feathers the birds had voted and donated for the flight of the tortoise

In the running for election in the running for office, these feathers

Were glued  to the back of the tortoise, and the glue that glued the feathers

To the back of the tortoise after a while would wear off, the while

It would take the glue to wear off, this duration of time it would take the glue

To wear off is the duration for which the votes has entitled the chicanery politician

To stay in office,

The time of the expiration of the glue when the feathers begin to fall off the back

Of the tortoise is the end of the tenure of the elected office holder ,

When the office holder‘s tenure comes to an end; but the hungry birds

Said as a revolutionary prophet said that ‘The kingdom of heaven suffers violence

And the violent shall take by force’, this they said,

For what the tortoise was doing to them was violence.

The birds said ‘we shall not wait till the glue expires for the feathers to fall

But we shall with violence withdraw our feathers from off the

Back of tortoise for the tortoise has our backing no more.

The birds the youthful ones in violent protest not waiting for the end of tenure of the

Politrickster, the office holding tortoise, before dethroning the tortoise with violent protest

From the seat of power the kingdom of heaven.

‘We shall with violent protest take back our feathers from the 

Back of tortoise for the tortoise has our backing no more’;

The birds the youthful ones in violent protest not waiting for the end of tenure of the

Politrickster, the office holding tortoise, before dethroning the tortoise with violent protest

From the seat of power the kingdom of heaven.

The birds ripped their feathers from the back of Satan the tortoise the politrickster

Politician.

The birds ripped their feathers from the back of Satan the tortoise the politrickster

Political office holder, the holder of the seat of power.

And Satan the tortoise featherless was cast from the chief-seat of government

The throne of the kingdom of heaven

And lo Satan the tortoise tumbled down falling from the seat of power

Falling from heaven a falling star a falling politrickster fallen from heaven,

Satan the tortoise divested of its powers cast out of paradise,

The angry hungry birds casting out the tortoise-clan the Satan-clan out of paradise,

Casting out the tortoise-clan out of heaven casting out the Satan-clan out of heaven,

The clan of chicanery and demagoguery cast out of heaven

Before the end of tenure in office and this was because

The birds became angry from being made hungry and kept hungry

By the reign of Satan the tortoise which caused the birds whom are the electorates, 

Who are the flightful and youthful caused to suffer hunger in paradise,

Caused to suffer starvation amidst plenty, so the birds rebelled in heaven

The angels revolted against Satan the tortoise in heaven

And in revolution they cast Satan the tortoise-clan out of heaven

For the birds were tired of thechicanery, demagoguery and hunger in Heaven, 

For when Satan the tortoise is in power even in paradise there shall be hunger in paradise

For when Satan the tortoise is in power even in heaven there shall be hunger in heaven.