Poetry: Jos Hope

I’d like to dedicate this piece to the bereaved families of the victims in the dis-heartening, recurrent violent crises around Jos, Plateau State. I pray that God will help us do what we should as a people and as a Government to keep these evils far from us, and to restore a lasting song of Joy and recovery in those parts.

Jos Hope

That the city, Jos, and our villages be restored;
Our justice, charity and our community;
Our spirit, our hospitality and prosperity;
Beauty for gun smoke and ashes;
Peace and strength for war cries and despair.

That our children will once again play on the streets
Without fear, without guns in sight;
That our patrons will remember our famed hospitality and return;
That we will regain our place as a national scenic attraction -
Our cool, green, lush, rich tin city of Jos.

That the soul of our city and her villages be restored;
That we may not pass on a heritage of malice
Or handover missions of revenge against our neighbors,
But a legacy of justice and equity swallowing up
A history of hatred, murder and greed.

That our age-old portrait of community life
Weaved by numerous ethnic threads and bound
By a rare spirit of tolerance and hospitality,
We will once again recapture;
Saved, reborn and re-vitalised city of Jos.

©2010, Tee Akindele

This poem was first published in the article “Entering through closed doors“.

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