Tony Cemaluk Egbuonu

Nkea na amamu ahu jijijiji,
Ikedo mu na nmazi uzo di
n'okpulu ugbo mmili anyim,
...

Force never succeeds. It fails.
It mimics, mirrors, mocks, and mourns.

It holds no water on the soul,
...

The just-bereaved has a very busy traffic going on
Inside the brain.

Not on ground, but informed after others,
...

PROMISE not pounded yam when you can't
pound pounded yam; worst, under oath,
when you can, but compromise instead to pound cocoyam.
...

Very soon.
Soon. Very, very soon.
Restoration galore — sooner than soon.
Body, restored.
...

This day, I was shouting.

Uwah- eh, Uwah- eh, Uwah-eh.
My little way shouting
...

Meeting, together we warmed.
Morning until evening, not night,
For ardour, heavy, hopeful, and happy,
Watering our garden, together we watched.
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If he could fly as a bird,
If he could float as a flotsam,
If he could swim as a fish,
Maryland, just there,
...

This week minus nine, a foetus;
This week plus three, a baby born to the brave and bold.

Succulent as a tendril, suckling and cuddling dearly, she grew.
...

We do not build for the day.
We build for the decade.
We do not plant for ourselves.
We plant for those who will sit in our shade.
...

They said 'get tools.'
We brought hearts.
They said 'get funding.'
We brought faith.
...

Everything we did and didn't do,
we knew.

We were never a bunch of yahoos.
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Should I die before you?
Don't rush to rejoice or mourn.
I didn't die.
We don't.
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When Challenge Cripples the Lion

It was not the hunter.
It was not the drought.
...

They that could impact
positively to core academic life —
Awards, they are.
Local, departmental, college, or university level, they are.
...

Electron, Proton, Neutron
Must be balanced
For atomic stability.
...

The atomic particle knew its worth.
On returning undone,
it stood before the Almighty Atom.
...

In Ojoto, they say: 'Nwa aNwoye Malukwuo bia, come'

Onwurah - the name his parents gave.
'Death, leave me alone'
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Devil's abode,
Hell is nowhere close
to God's sanctuary —
Heaven.
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Marks of Savages

Mary stopped one: the killing of twins.
Florence stopped another: the abandonment. She nursed the wounded in savage wars.
...