I am simply a boy who was raised by a river

The smooth and slippery banks of the Niger

It will be responsible for rearing me forever

A long abandoned dreamer, a kind stranger

I grew up farming, now my mind is a forest

Filled with grey thoughts sprouting on a hill

Descriptions of a small village in the deepest

Fall of Nigeria beneath crude and winds still

I once heard a man say "home is the bedrock"

The statement gave me a sense of the world

When sunlight mornings came with the clock

Reminding again and again of the things old

I am simply a boy who was raised by a river

It fed my body and soul, while teaching me

To exist beyond a wall of mud and discover

The scents of light on dewy leaves and a sea

In a way, the past sky drew my mental maps

I still wander round the landmarks at times

Seeking for beautiful places about to collapse

The river, the tall trees, nothing ever comes

So when I set free upon this sea of thoughts

Dimpling waves of light into silver, a weaver

Trampling realities under my feet in writes

In things unheard and unseen, a firm believer

When it is raining and I open my windows

And smile bright under a wood like a carver

I am no golden-rod tree, no little wild rose

I am simply a boy who was raised by a river.

© Funkekeme Akposeye