Poems – March 1997

DARE TO BE DIFFERENT

Adapted from “Teaching True Abstinence Sex Education” by Pat Socia

Keep those zippers zipped up tight
And those buttons buttoned just right
Clothes and “NO” are the protection, you see
So you can be free, yeah-you can be free

Long, long kisses, deep and wet
Might lead to something you’ll soon regret
Don’t get carried away and forget,
You better stay free, man, you better stay free

I’ll tell you a story about a guy named Jide
He got herpes, now where can Jide go
He can’t get rid of that terrible disease
And now he is in love with sweet Lara
You should stayed free, Jide, you should stayed free!

You know the story of a girl named Sheri.
She got pregnant, now what can Sheri do?
She can’t give her baby or give it away,
But what can we say?
You could have been free, Sheri, you could have been free

Listen to my message loud and clear,
Don’t get mad and start to sneer
If you want to be happy later in life
Have a home with children and husband and wife
You need to stay free, yeah, you need to stay free!

War Against Ignorance

by Mojeed Atoro, The Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro

Three terrible problems confront our world
Against which we need to wage wide wars
In order to overcome them today
And forever more

Ignorance tops the list
Poverty comes next
And diseases rank third
But ignorance is the worst of all
Against which we need wage the widest war

Let’s acquire foremost the most weapon of knowledge
Axe down next
The timber of ignorance
And all bliss shall be added.

a crazy story

by Osisami Oluwatosin
Baptist Academy Obanikoro, Lagos

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen
I stand before you to sit beside you
To tell you a story I know nothing of
But first there will be a notice
There will be men’s meeting for women alone
Wear your best clothes, if you don’t have any
Admission will be free,
But you’ll have to pay at the gate
There’ll be a lot of seats, but you’ll have to sit on the floor
Now to my story
One bright morning in the middle of the night
Two sick men woke up to fight
Back to back, they faced each other.
They drew up their swords and shot each other
A deaf policeman heard the shot
And ran to the spot where the sick men stood
If you believe that my story is a lie
Ask a blind man or woman
They saw it too.