Hiii fam!! Merry Sunday!!! I’m so sorry i wasn’t able to make this post last week. I resumed at work and there were a lot of things to take do – reports, meetings, etc. I’ll make sure to keep you updated henceforth. Today, I’ll be doing a review of an anthology (a collection of poems) as promised. It was written by a close friend of mine who likes to go by Keem Tunde. We attended the same higher institution (All hail The Polytechnic, Ibadan!!!). We even celebrated 5 years of our friendship on Facebook recently sef.. Lol!!!
Sincerely, YOU is one of the very few anthologies i have read from start to finish. It was so relatable. I’ve gone through it about thrice or so. My favourite poems were Fat Girl, Omotunde and Our Joy, Their Regrets. YOU tells tales of loss, sorrow, regrets, memories, despair, self love, self esteem and love.
Silence is a kind of peace. (Ode to Tongue)
YOU beings with a write-up tagged The Dead are alive which was centred on the deaths of his grandmother, best friend, Nneoma, and father. I could relate to this piece because i too have lost loved ones. The most painful loss so far has been of a beautiful, delicate, almost-translucent skinned girl Adebola. She was my best friend and i lost her at a time when i was also going through other losses. It was a devastating time for me and i sunk into Depression just like the character portrayed in one of the poems which, coincidentally, is also titled Derpression. Depression feels like a sinkhole; a black hole; a pitch black tunnel. It takes someone (or people as the case may be) like the character in the poem Omotunde to guide you through and pull you out.
The Cover look
Aduke I &II tells a tale of the loss of a lover to death. It speaks of the memories which have become tainted as exemplified by the “Morning walk … is now a mourning walk” (l. 10-11).Aduke II could also relate to someone who has survived a broken relationship.
Our Joy, Their Regrets paints a picture of a country like Nigeria who is not making her forefathers proud. Those who fought for our freedom would turn in their graves at the levels of corruption, tribalism, embezzlement, discord and terrorist activities in the country. This poem is a call to action to right our wrongs as a nation and prove that our forefathers who deemed Nigeria a nation worth fighting for independence were right.
I am light, and i would not fade. (Fat Girl)
Fat Girl is my favourite-est of all!! We live in a society whereby those who do not adhere to the standards set by the society are subject to pillory. The current societal body standards are either Slim or Petite at most. Fat is a no-no and as such, Fat girls are body-shamed. Slim is beautiful. Petite is beautiful. FAT IS BEAUTIFUL TOO. Love you for who you are. As the poet says- 《Hold your body to a mirror and/ Say, “I am light”.》 (l. 1-2) If you want to lose weight, do so because YOU want to, not because the society requires you to. If you want to lose weight because of your health, do so because YOU want to, not because the society looks down on you. Do YOU, irrespective. Live. Love. Laugh.
Home identifies the various definitions of where we can refer to as home. It transcends from just the physical building. “Home is/ Creating happiness in foreign places /Drawing smiles on strange faces/ Love, void of borders and thought of races/ Home is you.” (L.16 – 20).
To a stranger on the road is a reflection of the past. A time when innocence was pure, traditions were preserved and passed on, life was simpler, friendships were true, discipline and pampering were perfectly balanced and we everything seemed bright and possible – even the future.
Home is you. (Home)
Genesis is a poem dedicated to mothers and the valuable lessons which we learnt by their sides which have in turn shaped us and our outlook in life.
All the poems except Our Joy, Their Regrets were written in free verse. Enjambment, Imagery and Symbolism were poetic devices that were frequently employed by the poet. All in all, this is an anthology that YOU must read. Click on the cover picture and download your copy. Seriously. That’s all. Ta-ra!
(PS: This is my second draft. I mistakenly deleted the first draft as i was changing positions.. sigh! It was worth rewriting though.)
