ELEYELE (A POEM)

This is a Yoruba poem written by Bada Yusuf Amoo and translated to English by Kunle Omope. Enjoy!

ELEYELE

Eleyele mi owon

Aji f'omi ewa we ara

O f'omi ewa wera tan, o tun wo aso oge

Esin l'eegun won n'ile baba to bio lomo

Eleyele, tele mi lole kin n gbe e g'esin

Je ki agun esin wo oja Ife lo

Ki ori awon elegan tuka bi afoku eyin

Eleyele, tele mi lole kio wa mo Maami

Eleyele, aworan ree nbe l'okan mi

Bi Agbelebu Kerubu

Beeni Ife re bo mi dede bi Agbada Imale

Eleyele mi olomu oge, afi gbogbo eyin s'ewa

Eleyele, joo, gbami l'aye kin n kewi kojaala

Je ki n gbeti si bebedi ree ki n gbo oro

Ileke idi re n dun lowe lowe

Beeni on k'orin ni pamurogo pamurogo

Eleyele, eye bi okin s'owon n'igbo

Arewa bi tie s'owon lawujo olomuoge

Eleyele mi, olokan tutu bi ile Oluweri

Atele jeje bi igbin, oniwa jeje bi alagemo

Eleyele, eyin ati ahon a ma takoto oro

Beeni eda Adamo kan ki n bawon dajo e

Mase je ki alayonuso si ikekun ete

Maje ki a fun alabosi l'aye lati sa aroye

Eleyele, eewo ni,

Ki a fi okun ife we ti alantakun

Ife eemi re ti kuro ni oun afoyemo

Iku wa, ajoku; awe wa, ajogba!

TRANSLATION by Kunle Omope

My dear Eleyele,

You who bath in comely ponds,

Shedding the waters into gorgeous garments.

Horses bear you aloft in your clan.

Eleyele, come take a horse ride with me,

Let's ride into the market of love.

That mockers may envy and explode like

eggshells.

Eleyele, Mama yearns to behold you.

Eleyele, your picture marries my heart walls,

Like a crucifix carrying cherubim

Your love flows over me like an Arabian robe,

My dainty toothed and beautifully bosomed

Eleyele.

Eleyele, please permit my poetry to pour,

As I listen to the words of your waist beads,

While they utter profound proverbs,

And songs that make my soul drunk.

Eleyele, the peacock stands out among fowls,

You shine bright among maidens.

Eleyele, cool hearted like the abode of the water

priestess,

Your feet graces the ground in snails' pace,

Your soul's countenance is of the gentle

chameleon.

Eleyele, teeth and tongues debate,

Yet no son of man can decipher.

Let not our love suffer the telltale's caprice,

Nor the wicked weaving of hypocrites.

Eleyele, the eyes of ears are yet to see,

Where the spiders web wrestles the cords of

love.

Our love surpasses the understanding of

mortals.

We shall forever fast faint and fade.

KUNLE OMOPE.

Photo from google