Ola Poetry: African Proverbs

Even a horn can be stopped from fighting and made to sing forever.

it is the duty of horns to fight
to protect the head of a ram
but nobody tells an old goat
to avoid clashing horns
they’ve seen many comrades fall.
an aged human that doesn’t
teach the young around them
to seek peace over war
is suffering from a memory loss
or battling chronic irresponsibility
today belongs to the young
and yesterday’s mistake must
be taught to them so that
tomorrow would be a saner time
for both young and old to live.

Victor Oyedele