So I Went Seeking by Femi Osofisan (Okinba Launko)

So I went seeking

In the forest of the world

I went to the lion who roared and said

Come closer now, I’m hungry

I asked the elephant

Who picked me with his enormous

Trunk, and dropped me in a nowhere land

I asked the antelope

Who could not wait to answer—

But from what was he running so?

I asked the birds,

Starting with the peacock

Who merely laughed with a spread of wings

The tortoise kindly left word

That he’d gone to a feast

With his brother the politician out of jail

And I wore the length

Of the morning, walked the whole noon

Till I was worn, and it was dusk,

And so it was only

In the evening, far in the moonlight’s arms

That I found you, my

Lovely dream.

Femi Osofisan (Okinba Launko)

Babafemi Adeyemi Osofisan is a Nigerian professor and writer born on June 16, 1946 in Ogun State, Nigeria, who is well-known for his literary works that criticize societal issues and incorporate African traditional performances and surrealism in some of his plays. His plays often revolve around the struggle between good and evil. He is a didactic writer who aims to rectify the decaying state of society through his works. Additionally, he has written poetry under the pen name Okinba Launko.