The Alto of Life’ by Ayodeji Oje is both Didactic and rhythmic. The symphony is the lines knit them together into a piece so whole, one cannot point to a filler line. This is a burst of fresh air.

– Editorial Team

The Alto of Life

In the time and tide of life
 Like the pitter-patter
 Of a blushing rain
 And the staggering legs
 Of a drunkard
 All fingers by size
 Are in staccato
 But each play
 Their solfa notes
 To the Body's lyrics,
 rhymes and rhythms
In the time and tide of life
 Like the faint echo
 Of Nigeria's dying
 First storey building
 In my home town,
 Badagry,
 "The first house in town
 Isn't always today's
 And tomorrow's
 Most sophisticated
 Edifice in town."
In the time and tide of life
 Today's Oba,
 his Ayaba, Aremo
 and Ijoye in Yorubaland
 Soon become Tomorrow's
 “Once upon a time"
 For time and tide
 Takes its fierce toll
 On their reigns
 And at other times,
 Their weary veins.

Notes:
Ayaba: (Yoruba) queen or king’s wife.

Aremo: (Yoruba) King’s son or prince, entitled to the throne after the reign of his father.

Ijoye: (Yoruba) palace chiefs.

Contributor’s Bio

Ayodeji Oje is a member of the Poets in Nigeria Initiative (PIN). He hails from Badagry, Lagos state. He holds a Masters degree in History and Strategic Studies from the University of Lagos. He is interested in wordsmithing.