MY native poam

 

OZU ABAM – ROOTS OF GLORY

By Ikechukwu Frank

They called it a village,

But to us, it was the womb of warriors—

Ozu Abam, where the soil sings history,

And the wind whispers the names of ancestors

Carved into the bark of iroko trees.

From red earth to radiant sunrises,

Our feet knew the pulse of the land—

Bare, brave, unbending.

Each path, a vein; each tree, a totem.

Here, stories were not told; they were lived.

Ozu Abam, cradle of the proud Abam clan,

Where drums speak louder than tongues,

And every masquerade is a memory in motion.

Your streams quenched more than thirst—

They baptized destinies.

You taught us the language of resilience,

Where hardship brewed strength

Like palmwine pressed from stubborn trees.

You clothed our naked dreams in tradition

And fed our spirits with culture.

The hills bore witness to our prayers,

Echoes of our forefathers crying:

“Never forget where you came from,

For the root that forgets the soil

Dries before the harvest.”

Ozu Abam—

Where mornings smell of burning firewood

And evenings throb with folktales

Under a moon that remembers.

Where the market women chant hope,

And the warriors walk with purpose.

From your womb came kings and prophets,

Farmers with golden hands,

Teachers with fiery tongues,

Sons and daughters who now walk distant lands

But carry your name in their hearts

Like sacred scrolls.

I write of you not with ink,

But with blood—

The blood of lineage, legacy, and love.

Ozu Abam, you are more than home—

You are the root that holds me up

When the world tries to cut me down.

OZU ABAM—forever rooted, forever rising.

OZU ABAM – GBỤRỤ NDỊ NSỌ

N'okwu Igbo site n'aka Ikechukwu Frank

Ha kpọrọ ya ime obodo,

Ma anyị maara na ọ bụ afo ụmụ dike—

Ozu Abam, ebe ala na-akụ egwu akụkọ,

Ebe ifufe na-efe aha nna nna anyị

E dere n’akpụkpọ osisi iroko.

Site n’ala uhie ruo n’ụtụtụ nke na-enwu,

Ụkwụ anyị maara obi ala—

Na-enweghị akpụkpọ ụkwụ, ike, na-enweghị mgbagha.

Ụzọ ọ bụla bụ akwara; osisi ọ bụla, ogbugba ndụ.

N’ebe a, a na-ebi akụkọ, ọ bụghị naanị ịgwa ya.

Ozu Abam, akwara nke eze Abam,

Ebe ilu egwu karịrị okwu ọnụ,

Na mmụọ mmanwụ bụ akụkọ na-agagharị.

Mmiri iyi gị kwụsịrị agụụ na agụụ ndụ—

Ha mere mmụọ a baptizim.

I kụziri anyị asụsụ nkwụsi ike,

Ebe mkpọrọgwụ kụrụ ike

Dị ka mmanya nkwụ si n’osisi sie ike.

I yiwo nrọ anyị akpụkpọ ọdịnala

Ma rie mmụọ anyị nri omenala.

Ugwu na-anụ ekpere anyị,

Mkpọtụ nna nna anyị na-eti:

"Echefula ebe si bịa,

N’ihi na mgbọrọgwụ echefu ala

Na-ada tupu owuwe."

Ozu Abam—

Ụtụtụ gị na-esi ísì ọkụ ọkụ,

Mgbe mgbede na-asụ akụkọ

N’okpuru ọnwa na-echeta.

Ebe ụmụ nwanyị ahịa na-akpọku olileanya,

Na ndị dike na-agafe n’ike.

Site n’afọ gị pụtara eze na amụma,

Ugbo ọkụ na-eme nri n’aka,

Ndị nkuzi na-asụ ọkụ n’okwu,

Ụmụ gị na ụmụ agbọghọ gị gara ụwa dị iche

Ma na-eburu aha gị n’obi

Dị ka akwụkwọ nsọ.

A naghi ede gị na ink,

Ma na ọbara—

Obara nke mkpụrụ ndụ, omenala, na ịhụnanya.

Ozu Abam, ị karịrị ebe obibi—

Ị bụ mgbọrọgwụ na-akwado m

Mgbe ụwa chọghị ka m nọrọ.

OZU ABAM—mgbanwe na mgbọrọgwụ, elu na elu!