Over the years, Tayo Olafioye has published a series of works and most importantly, collections of poetry that cover divergent subjects such as culture, family, international encounters, politics, and a gamut of the human condition. This is a selection of some of the best of his poems written from 1984 to 2002. As they reveal the sociological history of the poets own experiences, these poems also celebrate and testify to the survival spirits of mankind, and, where possible, offer hope to human disillusionment.
Olafioyes voice is a clear example of a break with the idyllic verses Africa was singing there is now a voice in present-day modes that makes itself heard. It makes for dramatic tension in the poetry, suggesting a dialogue between the poet and a political order. The poets travels keep his sensibilities quivering with the compulsion to articulate memory: tender moments of family reunions, speculations about dying, kinder days of marital bliss and other coincidences of lifes encounters.