Alagemo Poem by Adebayo Akande Smartfingers

Under the burning sky we toiled that day

Night embraced day and the sky grew gray

We’ve worked all day but we didn’t halt

For if stumps are not cleared by first light

Our taskmasters will not pay.

Yea, if heaps are not raised by cockcrow

Our daylong labour will be in vain

Then, from a nearby shrub, something flashed by

Startled! Yeeee, we screamed in unison;

Paramole! Paramole! Paramole1!

In sheer mayhem, folks scrammed, I stood put

Armed with machete, I invoked my torch

Scrutinized the rustling of leaves nearby

Alas! Its no paramole! It’s an aged Alagemo2

Bellowed on my folks and together we chanted in folksongs

“Oh Agemo, man of many colours”
On the shrubs, you are green
On the earth, you are brown
Oh Agemo, man of many colours
The rainbow clad itself in seven colours
Will you lend it one more? Will you?
The zebra, stripes itself with two, just two
Will you lend it one more? Will you?
Me too! I have one black skin
Will you lend me one, and make me yellow
Yea, make me yellow, turn me to an eebo3


We sang till the night wore thick black coats

Folks left for home, I refrained

Then I probed Alagemo;

Oh Alagemo why do you switch colours?

Is that a ruse to stray oluode’s fiery shots?

Or to domineer haunting claws of death?

Please indulge me Alagemo

Iya Agba said you have zillions of colours

Is it true?

Or you are just a skilful magician;

Amusing the wild with colour tricks?

Mounting Questions upon questions I was
when he answered in rhetorics

“Don’t you pity an old thing? ”

“For fortnights now, i haven’t fed”

“I lay here in ambush for straying millipedes”

“And you juveniles killed my muse”

“Why ask what I don’t know? ”

“Why do you wear multicoloured aso-oke4 to nuptials? ”

“And clad in black ofi to funerals? ”

“Counts of colours I have in me, only Osa-Oke5 knows

“Am just a colourful omnivore of Eledua’s6 artistry”

“Ask no more and leave me with my misery”!

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1 Paramole: Snake
2 Alagemo: Chameleon
3 Eebo: Whiteman
3 Oluode: Chief Hunter
4 Aso-Oke: Woven attires, worn on special functions
5 Osa - Oke: Deity in Heaven, literally; God
5. Eledua: God