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By Olu Obafemi
Kokoro
Kokoro Fijo s’ayo o
The warm
The warm relishes
The warm rejoices in dan- cing.
Alagba Jimi
The standing fire in your eyes
It’s glittering twinkle, smiles forever,
The thunder in your voice
The gravel in the natural
microphone
Buried in the chord of your patented baritone
Crooning and quivering
As the dance and song goes on….
Reminding us of Sango
The dancing God of thunder
Ha! Who will sing and dance the children to the day after-you?
Jimi, Awoko, the king songster among the birds, envied you:
Every lining on your tongue
Every hairy finery on your receding head
Every twisting nail of your fingers
Every ripple of your collapsing abdomen to the tune of Bata
Commands and swells into a burst of the dance
Recalling the syllable and the rhythm
Of the choreographic organ of your glottal anatomy
You, the reincarnation of Olukoso,the dance- deity
Kokoro fi’jo s’ayo.
So Alagba,
What rhythmic gong shall we strike
To set your dancing feet
On this forever journey?
What magic wand shall we cast
To summon a thousand minstrels
Lining your graceful path
Beyond the city of Two– thousand- and– one God’s?
The main arena of your life’s daily enactments
Everyday, like one day of festivals among the pantheons of the source?
Kokoro
Kokoro f’ijo s’ayo o
Dance on then
With songs unending
Your crooning bass
The gravy roar of the Omele on your throat
The radio has fallen mute
The screens have closed their eyelids
The lights have faded off the stage
Since your last tale was heard in the House of Arts
Alagba Jimi
Until they hear the thunder of your roaring voice
On the other side
Where all the gods and ancestors
All the creative souls who went before
Have assembled for your initiation:
They wait to welcome you–Ogunmola, Ladioo, Ogunde, Ogunyemi, and other
Immortal dancers and songsters-They await your arrival.
They will teach you the new steps and eternal choruses
Alagba Jimi
Goodnight then.
