Excerpts from a freestyle session at EOB

At the Empire of Bards, we play seriously with words. Here are few excerpts from one of our recent freestyle sessions. Enjoy.

[6/28, 8:23 PM] Teniola: Reel me in to the real deal
That my enemies may at my command flee

[6/28, 8:26 PM] Aralola: Power to the plain, sanity to deranged samples
Our ugly cheeks seek pretty dimples

[6/28, 8:28 PM] Mojisola: 'twill cling to our skin forever, every rivulet of dew our lover spray us, twill leave our conscience purer,  floods of blood from the cross of our redeemer

[6/28, 8:42 PM] Teniola: True power lies in wisdom not strength
Neither is it for the feeble but the intent

[6/28, 8:48 PM] Aralola: My tree, remember me from the days we used to talk?
Now the lineage sulks, I don't know you anymore.

[6/28, 9:05 PM] Aralola: Tree of hope, do not mope
If you do, tears will my thumb grope.

[6/28, 9:09 PM] Teniola: I bid my belief in this ageless tree
Indeed it is gift of life and very free

[6/28, 9:11 PM] Tunmise: That tree that doomed men to suffer woe
Has never ceased a season to grow

[6/28, 9:12 PM] Aralola: I feed on relief from a fruitless tree;
Now, I desire for me a filling spree.

[6/28, 9:38 PM] Teniola: Falling trees go to sleep
Rising ones wake to grow deep

[6/28, 9:42 PM] Aralola: On the flip side of much is dearth
But life's plenty will end with death.....

Words have power. We are born to speak life.

At work again- "Bistre Belle".

Well, here's the new piece I just started work on. She's a friend from school. A good friend. I guess I should spend 30 to forty five hours on this.

"Bistre Belle" is a celebration of the triumph of black booster and beauty. Black is gold. Black is best. I'm drawing this because I'd like to show the hidden glamour of an African smile. Join me as I chronicle this piece.

Ara 'deinde
June, 2015

FOR AMOS

This is a commission. It was drawn using black Bic pens on egg shell cardboard. Its size is 8" by 10".

C'est La Vie (3)

Arrival.

Everyone is reeling in resumptive vibes. It seems the glamour girls are more bitten by the bug than the guys- the camaraderie of greetings culminate in inevitable small talk and idle chatter at every turn, nook and cranny in the school premises, as peeps who had not seen in a four-week long aeon get to gist again. Hugs and shakes and fake flattery are the new emblems of social interaction today.

"Heeey! I've missed you so much dear. Come here, come here," says some girl, face full of shale sheen, probably, heart full of farce too. Today's heads reason acceptance as a function of doing what others do, doing the "needful". The other girl in question gives a like response. Of course, that's the sane thing to do. That's the drill, she probably wonders subconsciously.

Everyone looks their best, as though today has been pronounced "FUNAAB social functioning day". Girl A sizes up girl B, head to toe, in shrouded social analysis and says "babe, you look awesome. Such a princess..." The flattered says "you aren't doing bad either. The both of them have overly embellished make-up and diminished cloth sizes (sensibility sizes too, I'm forced to believe). They both seem like clueless actresses in a scene plucked out of some glamorous Nollywood movie.

Everyone lives perpetually with the fear of fear, but these distorted minds can't afford to be afraid of themselves, so they find freedom and boldness in the wrong quarters. Deceit and peer pressure are the orders of the day. This explains why most students dress in a to-kill way or act in self-debasing manner just to attract public attention and validation. It is human nature; the reality students, no, youths have come to see, appreciate and believe. Very few of us make attempts to define our own reality, rather, we swallow hook, line and sinker of stories over-glorified social models relate to us.

Back to base. Think of it; in three or four weeks from now, the razzmatazz will die out slowly like dying embers. Peeps will transit from Pizza world to Garri city. The negative aspects of the realities they have forced themselves to believe will call home; by then, it would be too late to search out an identity that can last. Of course, there ate always make-shift solutions. Why do you think people steal, lie, cheat and commit other vices? The answer is not farfetched. They can't lose face, so there must be some way to keep spinning the social yarn.

What we fail often to realise, however, is that character is what needs to be built, not reputation. When the social fabric is ready, there must be some strong body of character to fit into it. Placing carts before horses is insanity.

Ara 'deinde
June 2015