Alupayida* by Niyi Osundare

I stay very long in the river
And I become a fish
With a head made of coral
And fins which tame the distance
Of billowing depths

I stay very long in the fish
And I become a mountain
With a mist-cradled crest
And feet carpeted by grass which
Sweetens the dawn with its glorious green

I stay very long on the mountain
And I become a bird
With a nest of polyglot straw
And songs which stir the ears
Of slumbering forests

I stay very long with the bird
And I become a road
With long dusty eyes
And limbs twining through the bramble
Like precocious pythons

I stay very long on the road
And I become a cigarette
Lighted both ends by powerful geysers,
Ash-winged firefly on nights
Of muffled darkness

I stay very long with the cigarette
And I become a clown
With a wide, painted face
And a belly stuffed to the brim
With rippling laughters

I stay very long with the clown
And I become a sage
With a twinkling beard
And fables which ply the yarn
Of grizzled memories

I stay very long with s-i-l-e-n-c-e
I become a Word

- Alupayida*  Metamorphosis

NIYI OSUNDARE

Niyi Osundare was born in 1947 in Ikere-Ekiti, Nigeria. He is a prolific writer and highly valued literary critic. In December 2014, Osundare was awarded the Nigerian National Merit Award (NNMA) for academic excellence.