(Àlàbí lives in Ikole-Ekiti village and Àsàké
lives in Ikare-Akoko village)

Àsàké mi òwón,

My baby,
My honey,
The only sugar in my tea,
The only cockroach in my wardrobe,
The only mosquito in my room,
The only butter on my bread.

Without you,
I cannot sleep,
Without you,
I cannot eat,
Without you,
I cannot drink,

Because of you,
I can jump from a tall iroko tree,
Because of you,
I can swim the whole Òkun pupa.

With hardwork will I work my farm,
and at harvest, I shall earn plenty cowries,
To Lagos, I will take you,
In Abuja, I will build you a house,
To Aménrica, I will take you,
even in Lomdom, I will buy you a land.

Àsàké mi,
As it is doing me I can’t explain,

Yesterday,
It was like the taste of fresh palmwine,

Today,
It is like the smell of fresh ègúsí soup.

Àsàké mi,
My mùmú button you have found,

Àsàké mi,
My mùmú button you have pressed.

Èmi ni tìre ní tòótó,
- Àlàbá, òníshu.

———————————————————————————————————

NEW: Àsàké’s response (By Femi Osewa):

Àlabá mi òwón,

The man that glitters like the mid-day sun,

Bòbó mí àtàtà,

The one who holds the key to my heart.

Àlabí, I want to tell you about something o,

Uhmm,
It is about the king’s son.

His name is ‘Làjà- Adélàjà.

He saw me at the village square during the last Obì festival.

and he promised to marry me.

Àlabí, you know I am your mùmú; and you know I will die for you.

Yesterday, ‘Làjà bought me àdìre and ìlèkè o,

But just because of you, I refused everything,

Every day, the village kids call me “our princess to be”

Àlabí, although I don’t mind to be the village princess,

From the depths of my heart, I will rather be my Alabi’s princess.

Till I hear from you again,

I hereby drop my golden pen into our basket of love.

 Àsàké, tíre ní tòótó.

(Picture: www.atlantablackstar.com)

Filed under: Culture, Friendship, Humour, Love, Poetry