The Rock’s Greatest Enemy

… is not what you think

The rock’s greatest enemy is not the axe

That crashes in momentous sparks

That sends shivers down nerves

That on its journey observes

A path or two upon which to cleave the rock in two

For the rock, grows stronger with each blow

Lettings its faults go

Till the axe is ground and dull-ended

And on the grounder’s mill it is ended

The rock’s greatest enemy is not the dynamite

That roars its thunderous might

And shatters the rock to fragments

Spawning splintered monuments

Finding their place on faraway lands of solitude

For the rock, reaches wider with each debris

Setting its sons free

Till the dynamite is spent with nothing left

But echoes and memories of something cleft

The rock’s greatest enemy is air and water

That runs its course in gentle slaughter

of the rocks might; unknown, unseen

Till the rock is gone for good

With no second chance to proclaim its petritude

Osundolire Ifelanwa

For Oyeleke Jegede

My rock in stormy times