African Medicine

Seyi Ojenike

Biography: ‎SEYI OJENIKE is a poet who finds creative inspiration in his rich Yoruba heritage. Shaped by literary giants Wole Soyinka and Niyi Osundare, his poetic voice resonates in his contribution to the book "Things Fall Apart: The Centre Cannot Hold," a collaborative work between the Republic of Ireland and Nigeria commemorating W. B. Yeats' Nobel Prize centenary.

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Seyi Ojenike

Tuesday 26 May 2026

African Medicine

After we communed with the earth, our ancestors,

bodies bathed in earth's whispers,

taught us how to dodge flying bullets.

the earth holds so much wisdom.

my forefathers knew, carried them into the newness

of modern age.

while flowers are for frolicking,

in the name of love. we, ingest them.

it is difficult to imagine anything more beautiful.

such barbarity

in their eyes could be a cure to malaria, piles or any other. the ground

is so fertile, birthing both sustenance and medicine.

how then can i forget my place, when history resides in the earth?

history, is the earth.

and the earth tells it through her offspring,

the herbs whispers it to my body. tales of my forefather's

beginnings and thrall.

i cling dearly to the safety of our science,

seeking shelter where others are nearsighted

we boiled:

out of cymbopogon and moringa smelled espresso

what is green that has come out of this earth

is not without use…

bitter. my taste buds had grown to relish them

i understand the eloquence of nature's stillness

between bartered herbs and tree barks

that squeeze out juice of healing

even the weeds emerge in praise

and if you ask me when i first knew love

i will smile in my heart

it happened in fragments, herb by herb

nature's healing hands - that's how i remember it

we possess science.

yes, evolving, we converse with broken bones sans interpreters,

rustling leaves in the heart of the tree,

and with herbs that chant.

i know the leaves by their names; i beckon to one,

a hundred respond in two folds, echoing in the grindstone.

i do not discern if it brings wellness or not.

i only pick what is good and pure.

may i not harm any soul.

let my hands and heart stay pure and clean.

may the leaves not harbour anger toward me,

and let the herbs do no harm.

may it be benevolent to me and those i heal.

let my work be blessed by god and the ancestors.

i call upon the spirits of the leaves to aid me.

we are healers of health and mirth. with wisdom and

skill, we mend the body, the heart, the mind.

with faith and trust, we mend all,

except death.

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African Medicine

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