Wole Soyinka at 86.
Happy 86th Birthday,
to our very own,
Prof. Akinwande Oluwole
Babatunde Soyinka,
Better known as
Prof. Wole Soyinka.
You have come
of more than age
at 86,
a hallmark of literary ingenuity,
woven in theatrical creativity,
May your evolvement
be through in closing cycle
of return,
from sphere of this turning point, upwards!
when it will be.
You have come
of more than age
at 86,
a huge
human resource,
inestimably
of unusual pedigree,
May your evolvement
be through in closing cycle
of return,
from sphere of this
turning point, upwards!
when it will be.
You have come
of more than age
at 86,
Heroism personified
in iconic activist
audacity, definitely grown,
May your evolvement
be through in closing cycle
of return,
from sphere of this
turning point, upwards!
when it will be.
You have come
of more than age
at 86,
an epitome
of Nigerian nationalist,
political activist,
and global personage,
May your evolvement
be through in closing cycle
of return,
from sphere of this,
turning point, upwards!
when it will be.
You have come
of more than age
at 86,
an aesthetic
speech prowess, so unique
in candour, and thorough
expressiveness,
May your evolvement
be through in closing cycle
of return,
from sphere of this
turning point, upwards!
when it will be.
You have come
of more than age
at 86,
a goldmine
of archives, arts, libraries,
exhaustive in themes,
contents, and performances,
May your evolvement
be through in closing cycle
of return,
from sphere of this
turning point, upwards!
when it will be.
You have come
of more than age
at 86,
an enhanced
gargantuan
of intellectually whitish-grey
upstairs,
but wish its intuitively
much balanced, so my thought!
May your evolvement
be through in closing cycle
of return,
from sphere of this
turning point, upwards!
when it will be.
Ben Ezeohagwu won the Onigraffiks Prize for literature (2017). He is Professor of Graphonomy and Chancellor, African American University, Porto-Novo, Republic of Benin and can be reached at email: benezeohagwu@yahoo.com; www.africanamericanuniversity.
