I am the plaque that speaks
a witness in wood and metal,
telling a story of wine and conquest,
where a colonial officer and his wife
raise their glasses beneath an umbrella’s shade.
The pocket watch ticks; the handbag gleams;
time and empire breathe in tandem.
To my left stands Oba Ozolua,
king of kings,
whose might once bound the Kingdom’s hearts.
To my right, Oba Eweka II,
his father driven to exile
by the red tide of 1897.
You who look upon me
am I slack when I whisper of sorrow and pride?
For within my carved silence,
old voices stir.
What a sight. What a fight.
At the height of a rule not our own,
they toast while we still ache.
And yet, I raise my voice with you.
You lift your glass I, my grain of memory
to Ozolua, conquering king,
who stands though others sit.
The husband and wife recline in comfort,
but my king endures upright
a symbol, unbroken.
You stand now as he stands,
seeking the strength that history guards.
I, the talking plaque, bear witness still
to empire, to exile, to pride reborn.
If you listen,
you will hear what was taken,
and what still remains.
Most objects in the Benin Kingdom display are on loan from the National Commission for Museums and Monuments of Nigeria.