Learning from the philosopher

For the young male adults of Obowu,

Under the moonlight, give not soft stories,

Rather, harder intellectual expositions:

Divinity, cosmology, life and death.

Sitting on the logs under the lean, tall coconut tree;

In front of the village hall: brick walls, thatched roof of raffia palm.

Hezie the philosopher: bearded and greyed but strong.

In a shaky but animated voice cleared so often:

“You must listen attentively because someday,

You will be the one to stand here to teach,

To relay the knowledge of the ancients,

To the generations that lie in front.