Lagos Lives
Lagos lives Seeding and sprawling Steaming and smoking Grasping at the shoreline Gasping at the skyline Clinging to its oil-slicked ropes And singing of its toil-stripped hopes Praise be! To the God who sets His people free To the fiery preacher on TV To the Sunday throng that still believe Praise be! To the beggar and the banker To the fisher and the swanker To the struggler and the smuggler Praise be! Lagos breathes Coughing and crooning Swaggering and swooning Shouting at the winners Flouting all the sinners Unleashing hope with soaring psalms And greasing all the outstretched palms Praise be! To the Son who died upon the tree To the light that makes the blind to see To the ear that hears each prayerful plea Praise be! To the leaders and the bleeders To the hackers and the slackers To the hopers and the jokers Praise be! Lagos moves Churning and chugging Squirming and slugging Jamming on the highways Cramming in the byways Convulsing to the market mob And pulsing to the Fela throb Praise be! To the Ghost who lit the flame in thee To the Word of heavenly decree To the Three in One and One in Three Praise be! To the movers and the shakers To the moguls and the fakers To the dealers and the healers Praise be! Lagos lives And breathes And moves To a rhythm of its own To an ancient mystic poem To a purpose yet unknown Lagos moves And breathes And lives.Wayne Visser © 2011
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Lagos Lives (poem)
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