Heavens Ephphata Poem by Babatunde Idowu Ebenezer

You founded this town
Just like the Jerusalem of old,
You laid its foundation upon the Aro-Odo river,
You circled it around with Aise stream,
And you carved within it the Adodo and Oika streams.
You divided it into two with four junctions at Itamerin,
And you gave unto its inhabitants the gift of long life.

But upon the river now we look,
And its deepest secrets our mortal eyes could glimpse,
The streams now flow with enduring difficulty,
Brown dusts hovering over the roofs of Elefosan like clouds,
Wilting plants bowing their head in total submission,
Like an old man on his death bed,
For over the town the heavens are shut.

Why have you withheld the rain from us,
When our thirst this fiery sun could not quench?
Would you watch and see Aro-Odo dried up?
Would you wait until Oika ceases flowing,
And Adodo becomes a mere path of white sand?
Would the ancient palm trees wilt without hope,
And the secrets of the giant fish revealed to strangers?

We know you would not tarry still,
To open the heavens above our heads
And the Cascades pour upon us like Manna,
Its breeze cooling our hot roofs,
And its cold water quenching our deep thirsts.
We know you would fold your arms no more,
And watch our maize seeds rot in the soils.

Yes, the heavens shall be opened,
And we shall have rains in torrent,
Our cassavas shall be green with leaves in Ile-Ipetu,
Our vegetables shall spring forth beside Akunrin,
And our cocoas shall fruit again at Omi-Oko,
We shall have the showers in abundance at Ogegere,
And Ipetu-Ijesa shall be alive again.

With the showers of blessings also shall come,
A man after Your Heart to sit on the vacant throne,
Upon which you first put Olabidanre as the pioneer.
The ancient crown shall adorn the head,
Of the man who would do Your wills always.
We shall have showers of mercy and a godly King,
And Ipetu-Ijesa shall arise again from slumber.