"Homowo---Welcome, August!"

*"Hcmcwc- We welcome thee: great month of August, we welcome thee"*

O Lord, we thank thee for August...
After sweet December withdraws her hand, and, after the stricker fingers of January starts to lay her's upon us, precious rest escapes us; with a season of 31days, days which commands certain uncertainties, the weighty feet of life places a daring demand on the chest of men; men well pampered at Christmas feet.

O Lord, we thank thee for August...
Next comes the short lived smile of February, earnestly aiming at recovering our losses in times past; with deceptive seizures of love, striving hard to consolidate our whetted appetites from December. But February is short lived, and, though with love she attempts to remedy, the usual damage of the grinding previous month is just too overwhelming to clean up in a month of 28/29days.

Father, thank thee for august...
O, how we wish, the month of August like a soothing mother would rest February at her back; and, how we wish August would graciously relay immediately with February as the other months rest, but no! Our wishes remain just that: wishes!!

Then soon, life greet us with the month of marching and warfare; somewhat, like the opening of a lions ferocious jaws, or like the roar of the seas temptest; just like the vallian in a movie saying "ready or not, here i come", March literally greets us with balls of flaming arrows.

O , the sons of men, men whose breasts have almost littered the earth upon which they journey take to heels: "a scenario reinforcing the survival of fittest". Men cry out for help; women dry out in hell; daily longing for a relief that only one month could promise and deliver . But, But, stubbornly, March would never refrain rather than march on to marsh up the earth and the inhabitant thereof. Too much blood shed in march, o lord thank you for August!

Lord, we thank you though for April which follows (cowardly though) the month of warfare.

For April, though a tempty slap in the months, she inspires hope ,healing and harmony. The plants start opening up; and even, the flowers arise to rejoice. All of a sudden, the sun seems friendlier than previous; and, the wild animals even bear me witness. Frogs and toads sing for joy; goats bleat and the birds chirp un-end. "What a Good God!", they say, one to the other.

But God, despite the relief we are umbrellered under at April's spring, we are hit by the thought of unsafety and danger. We dread the vipers that stalk us in May, we tremble at the scorpoins lying in wait for us throughout june! The meaninglessness of 60 continuous days of enduring engineered labor! The months' place the burden of proof squarely upon our shoulders, and challenge us with a charge to justify our inclusion or to appeal for reliefs from damages.

O lord,
O lord,
.....we cry...we wait...we heal...we hurt...we hide...we seek...we linger..we long for...we lift up..we fall...but still, WE WAIT ON AUGUST!

But, August, still is yet to arrive on our ports after its long departure from family and friends. "August is yet to set off", some whisper. Others exclaim "she is yet to consolidate her total compensation package"; they continue "...a package where the wingless fly; where the clawless scratch ferociously. An utopia when lads appeal judiciary cases and where infantiles lead unquestioned conquests".

Oh (long) Lord, thank you for even the scent of the name "August"!

And meanwhile, as we drive hopes high, June soon gives way to Julius Divinus Ceasers month. For even he who called himself a son of the divine was incapable of taming the same. The month of July greets mankind with untold mysteries; mysteries sent to increase mans' misery; and, edging man on in an unending wilderness. But as the sages have it, before any grand thing occurs, a commensurate opposition is enslaved to bear the torch (so we thank you for all the preceeding), for had it not been so, how shall we properly hold esteemed the estimated value of August

Like W. Shakespeare's sonnet 18 reads: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

And now, shall we table a list of the Augustan family? A family which span from Augustus Ceasar to Antonio Banderas; from Joseph Justice Scaliger who invented Julian dating to Niels H Abel (Norwegian mathematician who invented Abel's Comparisons). Friends, surely, the Augustan family is a sight to behold. A family littered with Heroes, Champions, Conquerors, and so much more!!!

But, nothing symbolises August better; nothing announces the triumph of August, than the Hcmcwc (Homowo)!!!!

Here at the festival, kings find feets together in unison; thrones are joined in common interest; the warriors beat their swords to ploughs; and, the hunter rests to mend his wounds. Here at Homowo in August, the past and present take on a different meaning. Love now makes more sense and families all of a sudden find rythm and common ground. The young lads step up and out boldly without fear of threat, and they treat each other with spectacular dignity.

Oh , what a month!
One in which angels kiss after being sent to spy into the affairs of mortals.

Oh what a month!
One in which fishes surrender without being sought. The month in which corn, beans, cassava, okro, ginger, onion, pepper, and several such grow beautifully altogether. Garden eggs jump out of the gardens before harvest. Mushrooms own up to the golden soup of Hcmcwc.

In August, the sky's smile is broad; in August, the seas roar is most friendly; and, the forests are welcoming than ever.

In fact, August is a spectacle of perfection; a true masterpiece! A buffer for the coming hail bound foggy snow.

O, go on, tell the heavens that the beauties of August refresh skin, mind and heart at once altogether.

And, to the businessman, the worker, and the diligent, the dividends of labour is overly assured.

What a God!
What a Month!
Morning no more brings mourning!
Evening now brings everything; and, even afternoon is nothing short of good news.

O, to the mastermind of August, we give thanks and praises.

Hcmc-Wc!
Hcmc-Wc!
Hcmc, Yaa Wc!!!
©2017