"Hi or Yo"

“Hi or Yo”

Hi, Hi, H.i, Hi.
A very common and harmless word to say,
till you sit down to see,
the meaning we read into it.

In a world that looks rotten,
revival has been left sleeping,
selfishness is now a daily burden,
selflessness has long been forgotten.

Hi, I, Hi, I
Greeting or speaking? Selfish or people-ish?
It’s been a massive leap
from the traditional me, me, me,
to a more sophisticated hi, I, hi.

Pronunciation wise, they are different (Hi, I)
for a chosen few who went to school.
Expression wise, they are good friends,
for the rest of us who knows the truth.

I know…
“me brother, me sister…me mum, me dad”
has been a prominent accent
from the northern decent.
Could this be a disguise?
To express our selfish desire.
Hmmm… better not be.

So to leave the ambiguous Hi, I, Hi
and the traditional me, me, me,
we’re transported to a new world,
an outward message to “you”

It’s the voice that sees you and not I,
it’s the voice that says “yo” and not “hi”.
Next time you feel like greeting,
get away from the selfish thing.
Stop saying “hi” and start saying “yo”‘cos it’s all about you.
Hey, yo.

© (2006) Emmanuel Onitiju