God Can Catch You Poem by Jude Ogunade

God Can Catch You



Prelude:
No wonder the weather wobble in clime.
No wonder the clouds crawl; wasting time.
No wonder my navel erupted!
Aaashee, ayaaba lo!
Aaashee, ‘Lanke; omo Kupolokun papoda!
Aaashee, akofe, aya Adeoye re orun rere!
Ha! See, how my tears flow like the Niger!
Ha! See, their vials heavy like the Volta!
Yeeee! My eyes are sore with weeping
But my heart is free and unburdened
Though my mind is saddened and
I am like a baby crying from pains he cannot explain.

YES, GOD CAN CATCH YOU
You boast to me; you can do and undo
Like Microsoft Word
You boast to me; you can design and shape people’s image
Like Adobe Photoshop
You boast to me; you can stop someone’s movement
Like traffic light
You boast to me: Yet no one can catch you!

For you belong to the judges’ club
For you belong to the politicians’ club
For you belong to the clergies’ club
For you belong to the doctors’ club

You boast to me that the Chief Justice is your friend.
You boast to me that the head of state is your buddy.
You boast to me that the archbishop is your main man.
You boast to me that the surgeon general is your pal.

So you can do all wrongs uncaught!

You even boast:
You belong to the dog family;
You can smell anything.
You belong to the cat family;
You can see anything.
You belong to the bird family;
You can fly anywhere.
And cause coincidences!
You belong to the goat family
You can step on anyone’s shadow anyhow.
You belong to all; so you can cause death
And change peoples’ destinies and health
And of course; your gestures are also deadly.

And I ask: Please live forever?

You can ruin someone’s career if you like
You can conspire to institute obnoxious laws
You can tell the doctor to kill someone’s mother

So you can do all wrongs uncaught!

And you boast to me:
Who can catch me?

And I became bewildered by your boasts.
For there is substance in your brags,
For your cohorts oil the world.

Hmn! I think deeper in time
I know anyway that you came to meet the earth
And time is older than your chime!
And He who moves the earth,
CAN CATCH YOU!


©Jude Adebosoye Ogunade
Excerpts from ‘Ode to Carol’ – an unpublished manuscript

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Jude Ogunade

Jude Ogunade

Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
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