LOUDTHOTZ POETRY OPEN READING SEASON 8 EPISODE 2 REALM

KEMIBON - WINNER POEM OF THE MONTH

THE PATRIACHAL (poem of the month)

In this realm

Of mental slavery

Here

Where minds are still held captive by

The chains of patriarchy

Freedom will stretch its hands

In piety

But no man will take it

Because it serves them well

To be considered gods

When justice requests for equality

It is not a demand for sameness

But a cry for regard

Even the educated subscribe to the

Relegation of her rights

A dismissal of her rightness

Her perfectness in who

She is and can be

Freedom will peer into their souls

But no man will be stirred

Because it serves them well

To be considered gods

So surrounded by these fearful beings

Them prideful ones

She becomes subjugated

Pushed to the wall of

Society’s naiveté

And acceptance of archaic norms

She succumbs to the lies of patriarchy

Seven times seven times she forgives

His godfulness

Mercy will throw a line

But she will ignore it

Because it serves her well

To be considered crowned

In this realm

Success will drag its feet

Progress will hide its face

Because woman is not

Elevated to that place

That rightful place

Where her essence is

Celebrated

Her rights justified

Then glory will turn its back

Because society rejects

The gift of her

Intuition

KEMIBON

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MY BIRTHDAY IS MY DEATHDAY

The day I was born

I died in that realm

That realm that will welcome me

The day I will die

In joyful grief

My loved ones wished me well in my quest

Knowing we will meet again

As they bid me farewell

Just like they will do

The day I set sail

Once again

The die is cast

The path is taken

Choices are made

Knotting and unknotting

What was

What is

What will be

All is given

Nothing withheld

Revelations and promises

In continuous fulfillment fulfilled

And once again

I will have my due date

If all goes well

In the ninth month

Or seventh month

Or before my first kick or knock

To make my entrance

In these realms

Where my birthday is my deathday

IFEANYI OKWOSHA

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BABOON NATION

 This is how we do it where I'm from

We wake up way ahead of sun

Creeping out before the first cock crow

Sometimes journeying to places we do not know

All in a bid to make endless ends meet

My village is called global now

There are hardly any more trees in the ground

Just an urban jungle of glass, stone and steel

And streams now flow online, virtual is the new real

And the honking of cars has become music

I live in a place were abnormal is the norm

And you are the outcast if you refuse to conform

My girlfriend has a girlfriend who used to be a man

And my best friend's boyfriend has female organs

Together we all jump around like crazy baboons

But really how did we get here

So much hate, and wars and blood shed every where

This must be an alternate universe or dimension

Some abnormal realm, this baboon nation

But how do i get back to my reality. Sanity

It seems im living a scene of planet of the apes three

And humanity has been relegated to living in trees

Warfare is now fought by gorillas

To escape ourselves we now look to the moon and mars

Becoming baboons with alien ambitions

OLAMIDE SANTOS

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REALM 2

A sphere of authority 

where the diktat of the protagonist 

rules 

He rules the roost like a cock of the walk 

Enthralling and entrancing the extant chicks by the redness and fleshiness of his comb. 

And then what? 

Ends up as Christmas or New Years or other celebratory dinner. 

Always the fate of all those cocky ones in recent political history 

Habre, Gaddafi, Saddam and the man from the Elephant coast 

Alhaji High Chief Professor President escaped that, at least 

for the moment 

Unless of course some Habre-like hubris chases him out of Nguema's equator and then a one way ticket to the Hague. 

Young Kabila has not read the runes 

Tshikekedi is dead! 

Long may he live! 

Kagame, Uncle Bob and the Seven Soldier man remain his role models 

But tell him not to hold his breathe

The Spirit of Lumumba is breathing down his neck and the Sword of Damocles is set to fall. 

Ultimately, these men, these cocker spaniels and rulers of the roost in these realms do not bear rule 

For thine is the kingdom and power

Thine the glory! 

Let them know this! 

ANDREW WHYTE

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GREAT AGAIN BAWO?

Just because I'm Ebony
You think I'm kin to a chimpanzee
Sometimes you say it openly
Teasing me publicly
Like you own the galaxy
Feeling like human royalty
Some sort of Celebrity
Forgetting skin color is hereditary
Honestly
I'm shocked by your level of mental poverty
Normally
I'll just sit quietly
Silently
Watching your display of superiority
But the truth is we are part of the same big family
Something I doubt you'll accept willingly
But gradually
Even if somewhat reluctantly
You'll realize we are of the same recipe
I just have a bit more humility
I could blame my leaders for robbing me
Their lust for luxury
Made them murder honesty
They sold us to you cheaply
So it's hard for you to set us free completely
You noticed our energy
Bravery
And ability
So you tried to hold us down psychologically
But you aren't different from me
We happen to be on the same journey
Each location is just a different cup of tea
Hence natures disparity
Amidst which lies equality
Understanding this is the key to unity
So stop this insanity
And take things objectively
In my realm this is poetry
And I'm Gemini

ERHIO

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MINCEMEAT

Take here

The waters of her broken heart

Melted in the Saucepan of your abuse

How savoury it must taste

The generous serving of her mincemeat

Heated and stewed

Garnished and spiced.

Wash down the lingering parts of the broth

With the juice of her being

Feed your ego without relent

Till you belch from the surfeit of her broken self

Do not restrain

You are almost there

Soon you shall be done with this serving of the Lamb

Handed you as a leashed gift for coming-of-age

Bleating Ewes are not to be listened to

Their leash transform to gold

An inheritance of privilege

Conferred at the exchange of new age cowries

King of a modern transaction

The reigning of yourself in the realm of your folly

Haughty hands exiting a pouch

Cast ten shillings into unsuspecting  palms

Clutching falsehood as the symbol of fulfillment

For a daughter sown to yield increase

By a widow in a hut lacking a window

You put out the flame of her excitement 

Shillings killing feelings

This broken heart

Dripping of the blood of an anemic daughter

Carried into the realm of your alternate universe.

CHUKWUEMEKA    

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BORN LIKE THIS

We were born like this

With words as fire in our bossom

Thrust into realms like Atlantis

Slaves to words not from this world

We carried this fire in our bossom till now

We are born into this our world where words

Assume physical bodies and we can glimpse them with our bodies

Born into this our world were words punishes us when we lie

Embraces us when we dream

We speak the words our minds eye tell us

Speak like prophets with words from other realms

We were born like this

We fetch words from different realms

Bound like prisoners of war

Deliver them at the ears of all

We explore worlds with our words

Move into realms only dreamed of by few

Explore wonders of worlds untold

Live the lives of prince and princesses

Deliver nations from the strong hands of tyranny

Melt hearts, bind hearts, break hearts

Give birth to untold beauties and atrocities

We are the bearers of words

It is our lovely burden

We will carry it in this realm

And other realms only we can see.

CHISOM