I know your heart weighs a ton,
That soon I should this stage exeunt,
Even though to a large extent
You never did embrace me
For the heavy hand with which I kept see
Over you and all that is mine.
In your day, not so many behind the line,
You’ve come to see what plays
The deeds and motives of men have essayed.
Lo, great evils here abound
That to your ears I must make resound.
It has pulled down plenty a number
From a period far back I care not to remember.
It made famous the house of Atreus,
Who paid so much to death in dues.
On this bed from which I shall not rise,
I shall not query of things beyond the eyes,
But of those that ruin homes
And between brothers create contentious bones.
Tell your sister to beware of the wife’s curse
On her carrying promiscuity in her purse;
Tell her to leave another’s man,
Or her life to celibacy she’ll damn.
Let her faithfully mind her own
And allow herself only a congenial tone.
Soon, you, Ephraim my son,
The decide will become your own;
Consider all when you minister that decide,
Or some their fate woe would betide.
You are tall and stately,
Your heart kind and sagely,
Sharpen your eyes to the guile that be
In friends and maid. For I say to thee,
Your trust, its every measure, stow away:
Give to no man, not even for a slight stay.
Lend your voice only to few matters
And shun giving to strong drink and drunken banter.
Give ear to the voice of every counsellor
But in the receipt thereof remain a bachelor.
Lastly, Ephraim my son,
This must not be when I am gone;
None should bicker over legacy I bequeath
The shade is best when it is yours you stand beneath.
When I am gone, do not be overwhelmed with sorrow
For even if I could, I would not another life borrow.
Written by: Chileh Pedro
Edited by: Kukogho Iruesiri Samson
