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A Yoruba Poem- Ise Logun Ise (work Is The Antidote For Poverty)

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Saturday, February 20th, 2016
8 comments

A Yoruba Poem

Ise Logun ise

Ise Logun ise [Work is the antidote for poverty]
… Mura si se re, ore mi [Work hard and work smart, my friend]
Ise la fi ndeni giga [Hard and smart work brings success]
Bi a ko ba reni fehin ti [When there is no one to rely on]
Bi ole la ri [Its like we are lazy]
Bi a ko ba reni gbekele, [When there is no one to trust]
A te ra mo se ni. [We focus more on our work]
Iya re le lowo lowoh [Your mother might be rich]
Baba re le lesin lekan [Your father might own a thousand and one horses]
Ti o ba gbojule won [If you rely on them]
O te tan ni mo so fun o [In truth, you might be on sinking ground]

Apa lara igupa ni ye kan [families are like the arm, while extended family are like the elbow]
B’aiye ba fe o loni [If you are loved by the world today]
Ti o ba lowo lowo, won a tun fe o lola [If you are still rich, they will love you tomorrow as well]
Abi ko wa nipo atata [If you have an esteemed position]
Aiye a ye o si terin terin [You will be honored with “fake”laughter]
Je ki o deni ti ra ngo [If you unfortunately loose your money or position]
Ko ri bi won ti nyin mu si o [They’ll turn their back on you]

Iya mbe fomo ti ko gbon [There is suffering for the foolish child]
Ekun mbe fomo ti nsare kiri [and there is sorrow for the child that have no plan or vision]
Mafowuro sere ore mi [Don’t waste your formative years, my friend]
Mura sise ojo nlo. [work hard and plan well now, because time waits for no one]

– Author Unknown

8 Responses

  1. You jumped a verse down. Eko si tu n so ni dogs, roju ki o ko daradara. Bi o ba ri opo eniyan ti won fi eko se Erin rin, dakun mafi are we won, Iya mbe fomo ti ko gbon,ekunmbe fomo to nsare kiri, mafowuro sere ore mi,mura side ojo nlo. JF Odunjo

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