They Walked And Talked (composed by Prof. Uche Okeke)

They talked and walked,
walked and talked and talked_
talkative homing dames;
mothers, grandmothers, all homing,
returning from a distant mart
baskets on heads, words on lips_
gossip or talk tales of folks at home.

They clapped their hands;
they screamed from time to time;
they moved their heads in most expressive ways_
their hands spoke even louder than their tongues_
as they swept like a great Saharan wind
along the winding beaten tracks
before them, silent, deserted.

Not even the discordant creaking of the toad;
not even the noise of insects here and there,
not even the songs of birds everywhere,
were heard above the noise of these homing folks
who (forgetful of the ancient saying
that even blades of grasses are living ears)
could not restrain their long and wagging tongues.

This poem was written by Prof. Uche Okeke. He was born April 30, 1933. In 1960, he got the Poetry prize in the national literary competition organized by the National Arts Council.He authored Tales Of Land Of Death in the year 1933.