Come, love, come fire!
Where living inside, are secret longings,
And young hearts Christ-like devotion.
Living inside us are the tidings,
Follow us to a place of great passion.
Come, love, come fire!
I love to hear a million forest insects,
All singing to one tune.
I think quite clearly of the tropics,
And lovingly of the Moon.
Come, love, come fire!
I love to hide in her warm regards,
And when she finds hope,
I go and join the national guards,
All in an attempt to be on top.
Come, love, come fire!
Come rain! torrential treasures-
Where in arid dryness hope arrived.
The village farmers collect their shares,
In bounty harvest at year’s end.
Come, love, come fire!
Come drought, and famine, and hopelessness,
Wind, fire, and general grimness.
Come hope to embrace oneness—
Oh, love, wrap me in kindness.
Come, love, come fire!
Where in warmth darkness recoiled,
The length of our secret pains expires
Because a lovely tone song endured.
“Ah, love, who molded your fire?”
_____
Chris Ulasi is on the Editorial Board of The West African Pilot News. He contributes stories about culture and tradition, elite politics, ethnicity and national integration, civil society, and social movement. He is a university professor, community builder, poet, film producer, recording the emergent Nollywood cultural history through film.
© 2020
