LOVED BUT FOUND by Akinsanya Damilola

LOVED BUT FOUND by Akinsanya Damilola

by | Dec 16, 2017 | POEMS

LOVED BUT FOUND

by Akinsanya Damilola

For days lost, he sat by the old tent
With thoughts of a pretty dear, he could never get
We pitied, helped and endeared
That he leaves his drudges and face the sour truth
That a mistress would not bow to a poor lover’s wish
Told him tales of Antonio and the end hitherto
But he wouldn’t bulge to our stories that tore his little veins
We ravened his mother of her son’s latest duff
That makes him lie awake with her portrait in his wide cloak
Clenched tight to the chest in sleep or wake
With passion that could boil an orb into a sizzling egg
All night, we pray that the princess comes
To save the life of a tipsy soul;
Before affection takes its turn of the highest toll.
For her beauty could make princes beg
And cause a king to abdicate his golden throne
In twilight, she wore her velvet robe made of silk
And walked through her gates with elegance so swift
With such tender steps that makes the earth lull
Our baby boy has gone really numb!
We no longer see in him our sane son
When he tore the market square with his new song
Of affection’s tight grip and the lily found
That raped his senses like a timid newborn
Who has swam the blue bay of beauty at night?
Or seen the shore of love?
Or sailed the isle of dote?
Has anyone seen the shore of her?
Who rules a man’s heart with smiles so shy?
Only the brave can trudge out the plain
Where affections lie fresh on the field like dew at dawn
Near the lake of flowing estuaries of love and like
The wave of love, my heart to wet
Where thence do I tend to dwell?
Amongst my kinsmen, or to my Lover that I may never get

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Akinsanya Damilola (Akindavies), a final year student of the Faculty of Law at the premier University of Ibadan. He discovered his writing aptitude after an encounter with Richard Wright’s Black Boy a couple of years ago and has ever since written a considerable number of poems and short stories. He is the recipient of the Lagos State (Alimosho Local Government) Essay Contest 2009 and was among the ten finalists of the Unesco Goi Peace Essay, 2015, among others. Away from writing, he has a fondness for trees and wildlife conservation.

Loved but Found

by Akinsanya Damilola | POEMS

SMITTEN by Eghele Akpere

SMITTEN by Eghele Akpere

by | Oct 14, 2017 | POEMS

SMITTEN

by Eghele Akpere

On the black rose hill,
Where no morning warmth hugs,
The mild expected no cuddle;
The freely priceless love,
And compassion shown,
Was welcomed with rebukes,
The rebukes of stripes.
Love was brute.

 

 

Without any lullaby,
No applauds or cheers,
With chants of crucify,
With blows and bruises,
Of shame and curses,
Mockery and laughs,
Laughs of scorn;
Love showed hate.
Without any words;
Calming words of affirmation,
She showed forth thorns,
Thorns as crown,
Trickles of vinegar,
Spits and slaps,
Strokes and ripping;
The ripping of death,
Death that was being swallowed;
Love bore cruelty.

 

 

With no feeling,
Feelings of compassion,
She nailed him still,
She spilled the gall,
And dared to say;
Let us see,
See who would save,
From this grip,
The grip that bore freedom;
Love walked still.
And as he looked,
At the bride he did love,
The same that pierced,
The same that sneered,
More love,
More love He poured.
From the wounds that bled,
That love was sealed.
Sealed with blood;
His stainless blood.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 I am Eghele Akpere, I live in Warri. I am the author of a novel, Diary of a Warri Boy. I am a geoscientist, who loves discovering new things. I keep on understanding myself more, and I found out that I love poetry (for the beauty of it). I get better, as I appreciate corrections.

Smitten

by Eghele Akpere | POEMS

LOVE TALES by Eghele Akpere

LOVE TALES by Eghele Akpere

by | Aug 30, 2017 | POEMS

LOVE TALES

by Eghele Akpere

It was love’s lullaby
That turned the heart blind;
To the unloved one,
The wisest lover is a fool.
 
It was love’s blindness,
That cursed the fool brave;
The lame, for her said,
I’d leap over a hill.
It was love’s whispers,
That forced the fool out of his life;
She said, I’m scared,
 Take my bullet; and he gladly did.
It was love’s sweetness,
That got the heart stuck:
Repeatedly singing,
I’d be blind, I’d be your fool.
 
Yet in love, we all fall,
Always.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 I am Eghele Akpere, I live in Warri. I am the author of a novel, Diary of a Warri Boy. I am a geoscientist, who loves discovering new things. I keep on understanding myself more, and I found out that I love poetry (for the beauty of it). I get better, as I appreciate corrections.

Love Tales

by Eghele Akpere | POEMS

ON DAYS SUCH AS TODAY by Elujulo Oluwatobiloba

ON DAYS SUCH AS TODAY by Elujulo Oluwatobiloba

by | Jul 11, 2017 | POEMS

ON DAYS SUCH AS TODAY

by Elujulo Oluwatobiloba

On a day such as today
When it rains as though it would never stop
And then stops as though it never rained.
We laugh and we talk
Wasn’t it the other day we saw the girls
Playing and talking and laughing
Doing their best to play and talk all they could
Like they knew just how short time could be
Like they knew what we also now know
That soon, the rains will come again
And in that moment, I paused
They reminded me so much of us
Back then when our chests were flat
Just before we were made to know
That time in this world is not measured by
Days when it rains and when it doesn’t.
Then I look at you
This day as it rains
As you continue your narrative
about how the blue- black battered eye became yours
And it occurs that we still don’t know what measures time in this world
I stand up wiping the dust off my dress
“Nnamdi will soon be home”
We both understand what I did not say.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Oluwatobiloba is a Law Student at the University of Ibadan. She is a daughter, a sister, a friend, a colleague and many other things. She loves watching Nickelodeon while sitting on a brown couch at home. She knows she is deeply loved by God and that gives her the courage to face life. She believes if she was not reading Law, she would be reading English. She loves people and their stories.

On Days Such As Today

by Elujulo Oluwatobiloba | POEMS

I’LL ALWAYS REMEMBER by Kariuki wa Nyamu

I’LL ALWAYS REMEMBER by Kariuki wa Nyamu

by | May 22, 2017 | POEMS

I’LL ALWAYS REMEMBER

by Kariuki wa Nyamu

—01
I’ll always remember
admiring your gorgeous eyes
embracing warmness of your character;
Enjoying we charm of our friendship
Me, cuddling you; you, tickling my fancy
Eating we lovely jokes for breakfast
as lie we on the couch
Me, soft-twisting your arm on lawn
You and I mental-screening our tomorrow
in a family, an envy of many
reiterating that I wouldn’t make vows I’d break
Yes, I’ll always remember
You in my world, me in yours

 

—02
I’ll always remember
the days I’d write myriad love epistles
to your cheerful heart
those that lived with me for years
My mouth unable to confess terms
unable to delete lovely pages from mind
unable to shed leaves of pleasure from heart
My soul never exhausted of carrying love’s load
Yes, I’ll always remember
storing tanks of relentless love, 
Keeping it intact in my mind, heart and soul
in honour of the most irresistibly gorgeous lady I’ve ever met
Yes, I’ll always remember
You in my world, me in yours
I’ll always remember
often reminding you how you opaque all 
Me, reassuring you that
no simile or metaphor befits your comparison
I’ll always remember
vowing that my heart will hold you dearest
till End of Time
hence I’ll love, and cherish you my morning star
since the walls of my heart
over and over again testify power of our solid love
as flames of love remain ever on
reminding us we’re meant be one love
forever and ever!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kariuki wa Nyamu is a passionate Kenyan poet, radio playwright, editor, translator, literary critic and educator. In 2012, he was awarded the degree of Bachelor of Arts (honours) with Education, English Language and Literature of Makerere University, Uganda. He has won creative writing competitions at school, university and national level. Apart from poetry and radio plays, he also writes film scripts, short stories, satirical essays and fiction for Children.

His poetry is published widely both in print and online, such as in A Thousand Voices Rising, Boda Boda Anthem and Other Poems, Best New African Poets 2015 Anthology, Jalada Africa, Praxis Magazine, The Wagon Magazine, Poetry Potion, Experimental Writing: Volume 1, Africa Vs Latin America Anthology, Best New African Poets 2016 Anthology, and also forthcoming in Multi-Verse: Kenyan Poetry in English Since 2003, among others. He is presently pursuing a Master’s in Literature at Kenyatta University, Kenya.  Poetry is certainly his territory.

I'LL ALWAYS REMEMBER

by Kariuki wa Nyamu

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