HAVE FUN!!

Creativity for the fun of it is SO MUCH MORE ENJOYABLE than creativity for monetary value. Took me some time to realise this! Suddenly dawned on me that when I'm playing, I have so much more fun than when I'm consciously trying to create something for sale!! Playing is so EXPERIMENTAL!! Consciously creating can be such a DRAG!!! SO to all you creative people out there....PLAY HARD!!!

Who says a round peg would never fit in a square hole? Find a way to make it fit! Experiment! Dont be precious with the round peg!!

Spitalfields

Love the vibe at Spits....cool, urban hangout. That's where you'll find me on Fridays....hanging out with other designer makers, artists, craftspeople...doing our thing: selling beautiful objects d'art!!

Have a great week!xxx

Christmas Sale!!

Really looking forward to Christmas!!....for all the wrong reasons!!! Well, from a business point of view for all the right reasons!
I'm looking forward to booming SALES!!! So many opportunities to exhibit and sell right now! It's intriguing. I never really appreciated the consumer culture until now!

My name

My name speaks volumes
As I dance to its pronunciation
I realise I will not alter this name
To suit a plastic world

For this name speaks of warriors
Red earth and drums
Rhythm grown in the home
In the dance of the pestle
The shake of the basket
The grind of the stone
As food fills the home

This name celebrates me
And whom I have become

I dance when called
At my heritage and birthright
The authenticity of who I am
Its nuances and intonations
I will not play down
Or lay down as slang
Words too rich to pronounce
They leave a twist in your tongue

So call me again
And light up my eyes
With the sweet breath of home
I find in my name
At the scent of grass mingled with rain
As it kisses the soil of Africa


Omo Okolo copyright reserved 2002

Times like this

I smell decadence in the street
Corruption like blood has been spilled
The air is so tense
Can you feel......?
What anguish! Mother Nature weeps

Faces are hollow, eyes shift
Footsteps are whispered
See......shufflers shuffle along
Sweeping pockets for pins

I see decadence in the street
I hurt because it makes me weep
I cannot don a mask
Ignore the remarks on the faces of people I see
'Tried and failed'
'Never helped'
'Lost it all'
'Downright sold'

I feel decadence in the street
Will someone please listen to me
We cannot go on
With a play upon words
We create just to soothe our own needs



Omo Okolo copyright reserved 1998

Tribute to basket mouth

With rofo rofo fight
I call on the unknown soldier
And the beasts of no nation
I ask the vagabonds in power to step down

Pay no mind to the noise for vendor mouth
And fear not for man
For water no get enemy
Even though there is no agreement
And our people are suffering and smiling

With so much confusion
Everything is upside down
Yet in spite of the army arrangement
We go shout plenty why poor man dey suffer
Because observation is no crime
And we hear our children cry
Teacher don't teach me nonsense

Yet which head never steal?
Here in London, we see everything scatter
As dog eat dog when question jam answer

In America, the perambulator
Is an international teef teef
Who pays no heed to the people's cry

In Naija, just like that, overtake don overtake
And the vagabonds in power claim there is no bread
And resort to unnecessary begging

We have reached a stalemate
There is no time for shakara
Let confusion break bone of the original sufferhead
The perambulator and Mr Follow Follow
Because it is an open and close case
That bad leadership is very expensive shit



Omo Okolo copyright reserved 2003

Put your foot down

I give my halfway man
Neither hers nor mine
A halfway look
Neither smile nor frown
That kind of tells him, I guess, I am vexed
He does not say a thing, just walks past me
And I wonder why he does not take me seriously
As I kind of talk to him, sort of tell him, I guess
How I feel at being left at home all day
Without so much as 'by the way'

I guess my halfway man
Neither hers nor mine
Kind of loves me in a way
I cannot put my finger on

So, I stay in this halfway house
That is not quite home
And hope oneday, sometime soon
He will, I guess, take me seriously


Omo Okolo copyright reserved 2003

Live the dream

Some day, you will wake up and say 'they told you so'
They told you, you could raise your head high and walk proud
Knowing that this battle has been won with the sweat and blood of generations gone
They told you, the world was an oyster in the palm of your hand
And all you had to do was reach out and grasp your dream
And it was yours to become, to fulfill
Because it is all so real, this creativity within you
This gift bursting to be out and about and shout out to the world to note its worth
This wisdom, pulsating as you breathe in and out
In a world that appears shut down to a creativity that will not stop till you drop
Because it is given and is far reaching
And today is as good as any day to start
And do not believe the lies as men try to shut you up
Tie you down, make you stay, knowing they cannot
For the dream within you will not die even if you never try to fly
So what is stopping you?

Some day, you will wake up and say, 'they told you so'



Omo Okolo copyright reserved 2005

Glory

Without God.....
my life would have no meaning
I would be in a daze
Pounding streets...wondering what time of day it is

Seeking, searching, frenzied for a nameless quality
To cushion the blows life throws at me

Dancing, gyrating, paying the piper
For tunes I do not choose
Naked, stripped of being the person that I am
Slipping into role like a chameleon

From mirrors, I would cringe
Hating to look within
Afraid of what I will see

Glory to God for me


Omo Okolo copyright reserved 2002

Refuge

The Lord is the stronghold of my life
Of whom shall I be afraid?
From what shall I quiver?
Where shall I dare not tread?

The Lord is my Redeemer
My refuge in times of trouble
Though I walk through the shadow of death
I shall fear no evil
For the Lord is before me
The light of my path
He will comfort me
With His rod and His staff
Fighting my battles
Waging my wars
Keeping me clothed in His love



Omo Okolo copyright reserved 2003

Not A Dog

Don't treat him like a dog
If he has no bark
Give him a label
Sew him a tag
Paint him colours he is not
Tell the world his cause is lost
Backlash, tonguelash wreck the home
Words are mortal sticks and stones
Picking nits when nits ain't in
Takes the flesh off everything
Scabs, sores, hollow walls
Casualties of flailing him

If a man is not barking
He is not a dog
Not pissing around to mark his spot
Not on the prowl for a bitch in heat
Not chasing bunnies in his sleep

A good man, they say, is hard to find
And some of us sisters have a gold mine
So don't treat him dirty
Don't make him pay
For every other brother who has gone astray

Some of us sisters, take the mick
Fault finding is our gig
Where we get our highs and rise
Feeling we are queens arrived

Look in the mirror I dare you
If you are never wrong
You had better change the view
Slant the mirror to make it straight
Look yourself in the face

Perfection to no man belongs
Correction always carries on
Burns a torch for all to see
That change is simply necessary

So sister if you diss your man
And feel he is some dog
Go get a leash, get a tag
If you are not the bitch about



Omo Okolo copyright reserved 2003

Black History Month...

for anyone who missed my return to the stage here goes.....


I am proud of my origin
thick curly hair
lips pouting wide
eyes widespread oval
with deep pools of light
rhythm in my soul
dancing in my stride
feet placed on the ground
wide hips pulsate
skin of bronze and luminous
voice of ancient melodies
jibes at my origin underline peculiarities
the wealth of a man is his enemies
envious of how great he has become
so next time you sit next to me
look into my eyes
you will see them dance
proudly to those ancient drums
melodies I bring along
from my native motherland

Omo Okolo copyright reserved 2003


I thoroughly enjoyed being on stage...doing my bit for Black History Month!

performance poetry

On a roll at the mo! really having so much fun! probably cos I'm doing what I love most right now! rhyme...verse....art....it's all good!

Performing on stage for Black History Month was a bit of an eye opener....hadn't been on stage since 2004...had actually forgotten what a buzz it is! really appreciate performance artists right now! the limelight aint easy! anyone who thinks it's a piece of cake seriously needs to back up that thought with FACT! words failed me for a few seconds but it seemed like forever!
I really look forward to performance poetry some time really soon....cos I enjoyed myself....