#PoetryMasterclass – Chinua Achebe: For the love of Poetry

#LostInAchebe ‪#‎NPM16‬ ‪#‎CelebratingPoetry‬ He is known as one of Africa’s most celebrated prose writers and yet POETRY was Chinua Achebe’s first love.

I stumbled upon this website (www.brainpickings.org) and had a feast on Achebe’s poetry. In particular, his poem “Remembrance Day” struck a deep chord.

Come June 4th, I’ll be part of a team organizing the Annual Biafran Memorial Day Event in Toronto. Achebe’s reminder of what an honourable remembrance day celebration should be to all Igbos is both timely and necessary.

 

“We called him:

visionary,

missionary,

revolutionary

and, you know, all the other naries

that plague the peace…”

~ Chinua Achebe [From his poem: “We Laughed at Him”]

 

[The audio source: Soundcloud account of http://www.brainpickings.org]

#55. Floetry by JulietKego: The Saddest Note We Ever Heard.

 

The Saddest Note We Ever Heard

 

The choir hummed a halting hymn
The organist played a pretty note
And we all waited for her to sing
And yet the only lyrics
That escaped her dry, parched tongue

#PraisePoetry #LettersToYeshua #Floetry #18. A Song For Lovers: I Choose You!

Day 2. NaPoWriMo- Celebrate Poetry, All Month Long!

Poem: A Song For Lovers: I Choose You!

[A melodic ode to sensuality & spirituality; Song-of-Solomon-eque; praise-poetry; worship poems]

Dear Yeshua,

There was no music
and yet we danced to our own beats
We swayed sensually to the rhythm
of our fired pulses ‘n’ heartbeats
I shall remember these moments,
I’ll freeze them in timeless space
Especially the sacred hour
I looked into your soul and saw my own face

#POETRY4ChangeAfrica: “Father’s Funeral” by Oluwasegun Romeo Oriogun (Ogun Da Silva)

VISION | VOICE |

VISIBILITY | VALUE-EXHANGE|

Father’s Funeral by Oluwasegun Romeo Oriogun (Ogun Da Silva)

the body was laid to rest
along with his years
his memories
and nothing,

#POETRY4ChangeAfrica: “Last Words Mama Couldn’t Say” by Oluwasegun Romeo Oriogun

VISION | VOICE |

VISIBILITY | VALUE-EXHANGE|

Last Words Mama Couldn’t Say
by  Oluwasegun Romeo Oriogun (Ogun Da Silva)

1. The end won’t hurt like the beginning.
2. Beautiful houses do not always make good homes.
3. The first time I held you God turned his face.
4. I could give you lessons about loneliness but I can’t tell you how it feels.
5. Learn to wait for love.
6. Your father bled me in places that killed me.
7. A woman is a body.
8. Learn about suffering.
9. Learn about nights and tears.
10. Never hit a woman.

Writers’ Platform: www.africanwriter.com – A Home for African Writers…

I stumbled upon a website (http://www.africanwriter.com), and I found it to be a wonderful resource for writers, poets, damatists…it is a community dedicated to promoting African writers (at home and in the diaspora), and their distinct, original voices/talents to the world.

African Poetry Prizes and Contests

“Rejected pieces aren’t failures; unwritten pieces are.” ~Greg Daugherty

The African Poetry Book Fund promotes and advances the development and publication of the poetic arts through its book series, contests, workshops, and seminars and through its collaborations with publishers, festivals, booking agents, colleges, universities, conferences and all other entities that share an interest in the poetic arts of Africa.

#56. Who’s Laughing Now?

Who’s Laughing Now?

We, the flock, can smell

That bullshit you’re trying to sell.

Don’t think for a moment that we don’t know

that you’re putting up a hell of a fake ass show.

We came here today, exactly for this;

You are our escape from madness, our seventh day of bliss.

#30. A Love-Song For Couples.

Day 14. NaPoWriMo- Celebrate Poetry, All Month Long!

Poem: A Love-Song For Couples

May you each dig deep and find self-love

so that you can truly love the other person.

You can only share who you are,

you can only give what you have.

For it is only in first loving yourself

that you can you truly love another.

When your souls thirst or hunger

for the beauty of life, may you be quenched

with the waters of unconditional love

#16. After the HeartBreak

Oh welcome home, Love!

How wondrous to behold thee again

What grace and purity you have, so like a dove

I’d forgotten how beautiful thou art

when seen without a cloud of pain.

How suddenly thou left, oh how for thee I feared

Or did he force thee along, out in the cold?

My heart bursts with secrets longing to be shared

Do you see the sad stories in my eyes waiting to be told?

Oh love, will thou stay forever this time?

Please do, for that’s how long before my heart will heal.

You see, he committed a grave crime

He branded my heart forever with his seal.

Oh welcome home, love!

Come in, come in, I chatter so

Hold me, embrace me, and never let go

My dear, dear friend, I have missed you so.

© ‘Kego Onyido (All rights reserved).