POEMS READ AT LOUDTHOTZ POETRY OPEN READING SEASON 9 EPISODE 5 RETHINK

Segun Peters (in glasses) Winner Poem of the Month

RETHINK ME – poem of the month

1.

Rethink the memories we didn't paint but lost.

The days of our suns when they were young,

Unfolding petals dripping with sweet dews.

Then, perfect blossoms entwined in desire to mate our souls

And we are as happy as blooms can be.

We bathed in the blissful rays of light

And delighted in passionate coos that meld our hearts.

That light of day was our breath for tomorrow

And the melodies of nature a  promise to be until sundown.

Those  memories of warm flames are now but a feast of nightmares.

The sight of me bedarkens your reveries and your heart is forgetting.

But I promise there will be hope and the light

There will be me lighting the path out of your dark tunnel.

Even though my petal wither away and tosses in the winds

The thirst of the dews from your leaves will nourish me

Your bulwark against the wind will brave me.

Dont deny promise another breath

But rethink me as I pledged.

2.

Rethink the moments we didn't create but died.

The sails of our seas may be rough,

Drowning us in regrets and fierce waves of apathy.

Now, faults has become the compass that steers our ship.

And we are as worn ragged as with futile sails.

We mourn the tempest for robbing us of what could be fair

And curse the storms for the fault in our stars.

That turbulence of sail is the bane of our peaceful divan

The raging of winds holds guilt for the silence between us.

Those moments of blithe are but cleaving shadows.

Your designs of me  lacks lustre and your heart is rue.

But I promise there will be hope and the magic

There will be me conjuring you to a place where dreams breathe.

Even as I have sown my grief in your bones and blotted your heart

The fullness of your sorrow will correct me

The fragility of your heart will renew me.

Dont deny promise another grace,

But rethink me as I vowed.

3.

Rethink the fate we didn't weave but severed.

The glitters of our nights may be forgotten

Echoeing narratives that empties us into strained sameness.

There, unspoken volumes of shame shall ignite our chambers

And we are as sunk as dregs in a gourd full of palm's sap.

We bore across time the burdens of our quiet

And sighed beyond age the persecution of our vows.

That weight of silence kept us shackled of the freedom-seek

The heaves of disgusts kept us prisoners of the better-want.

Those fates of beatitude are but faith of unheard prayers.

Your remembrance of me will joyful fade and your heart is numb

But I promise, there will be hope and the angel

There will be me escorting your soul  to Nirvana's loins.

Even as I have spread darkness over the pages of your memoirs

I know the cravings of your emptiness will dig me a hollow in earth to lie in;

Your pillaged years will furnish me a rememberance of bones and sands.

Dont deny promise a revival.

Even though I may be gone, rethink me to this end.

Segun Peters

/////////////////////////////////

  RETHINK

I am rethinking my whole life

Rethinking constellations and their various suns

Thinking again about the efficacy of soft power

Giving credit to the self promoting, yet undeserving 

Rethinking the big lie which in present settings is our default placement.

Rethinking political dogma and all the pronounced, though not pronouncedly  unworkable ideologies

Led by part-time ideologues instead of a  people of sublime and divine wisdom who like the tribe of Issachar know what to do and know what is going

Not like those witnesses of pentecostal upheavals who were not aware that anything momentous had taken place

Rethinking the verdicts of history

Verdicts, because history has not one but many and varied

Depends on who is writing, who is doing  and telling.

Rethinking limits and limitations which as all the crenellated guru's tell us puts limits on our abilities.

Rethinking  the possibilities of thought and the frontiers of consciousness

Rethinking divorce because of all those who come for divorce who have never  known the meaning of marriage; the purpose of life, love and possible procreation.

Rethinking  words and the truth of Frankl's truth.

Andrew White

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

SLEEPING BEAUTY

Sleeping Beauty fell asleep

On Moon Face’s rug

Her love Coco had left her

Quite heartbroken

So Sleeping Beauty dreamt

of her furious pain

And those dreams shared tears

On her elegant face

This,

Goody Two shoes did not know

He whistled through the Faraway tree

Making pixies cringe

and fairies who had come to live there

dive head first into their tree holes.

Goody Two Shoes realized

He had lost his way

Confused he looked into Moon Face’s window

And felt it was a great place

To rest for the night

The day had broken,

the room seemed bare

Goody Two Shoes stepped in

through broken glass

He saw a princess

On a rug

Cold and shivering but

Tired as Goody Two shoes was

He laid on another side

Of the rug

And slept off peacefully

Sleeping Beauty thought

Coco was back

She got up fairly dizzy

Took a wand from her bag

And ran in anger to

Poor Goody Two Shoes sleeping

On his side of the rug.

Abiola Bonuola

//////////////////////////////////////////

GRANDPA

Let me tell you a story,

Grandpa thinks we should be sorry;

Oh please stop the murmuring,

And let's start from a memory.

While growing up as a child,

Mom will say, in a voice so mild,

Son, don't you dare hide,

Someday, you'll be sailing in this tide...

A leader of tomorrow so to speak,

Then why the sorrow at this peak?

Shouts of leaders refusing to hands off;

Why? You stick your hands out,

You receive political campaign handouts,

And you think you shouldn't be turned off?

But grandpa, before you go judging, rethink!

Strangers invite you to speak about your home,

You guide them to throw stones at your own?

Saying Nigerian youths are lazy isn't that crazy?

Have you seen what we've been up to lately?

We work from sun up to sun down,

Barely getting time to turn up and wind down;

Have you seen the TV Iroko?

It's owned by a young hero;

Don't you know about Nollywood?

The cyberspace,

The online stores and more?

So Grandpa, before this stings stink,

You must rethink.

Jeffery Odin

///////////////////////

A NEW DAY A NEW OPPORTUNITY

A new opportunity is given to find the light

They welcome the guest in joy

A road map drawn most times without his consent

He familiarizes himself in a familiar ground

Theirs is to guide

His is to choose

Boundaries are crossed

They tie and unknot threads in the tapestry of life

They claim rights that none is entitled to

A new opportunity is given to find the light

Once again a blank cheque is given

Every day the figures written keeps changing

We pay in and withdraw in this account 

Some came with huge credits

Others the opposite

    

Every day is a new opportunity

To pen history to this unending canvas

The beginning of the tangible is intangible; thoughts

Think

Rethink

Thoughts form the future

Ifeanyi Okwosha          

//////////////////////////////////////

SUFFERING AND SMILING
Suffering and smiling during sleepless nights
Putting all within my power and might
My best interest indeed at heart
When you don't accord me  accolades,
How much more lemonades

Legitimate scam, disguised as calm
A huge qualm and cause for alarm
as our kings celebrate  our decadence  with  barbaric prominence
And we suffer and smile with confidence
Overlooking the broken fence
Think, think once, twice, thrice ... and yes with sense
Or continue our parade of nonsense.

Tobi Best

//////////////////////////////////////////////

HOPE

I kissed Mama's lips good bye

When she hugged the winds.

I sighed in countless search of hope

Grieved and engrossed by fate

Damned and chastised by faith.

I became ghost to desolated strands

In the wilderness of shame.

Indeed, I am no longer red.

Night lost its dark coat

Morning searches it's  place

My shadow eludes me.

The inherited vineyard,

Is sown in curses.

It is a land of broken dreams.

The earth quakes

Off my tear stains.

I am left with  choices,

To fall or to rise.

If I fall

I shall sink six feet.

If I  rise

I soar an eagle.

My mind like wax melts

My sigh like heavens heaves.

The gloomy dark cloud hovers

Awaiting my last sip of breath.

Will I do so with Mama's blessing?

Will the little ones entrust me see the grace of the sun?

I chose to rethink

On seat of sorrows.

Darkness reveal hopeful rays

The peace I once knew.

My mind roamed on.

What becomes of a man's shadow

When light approaches him?

Life is a straight walk to sunrise.

With shadows you must stop

Keep up courage 

Brave the holes in your heart

Make the soul speak life promises.

The sunrise we seek

Is in  our buried hopes

For in the shades of our shadow lies our hope

Emmanuel Ifeanyi

/////////////////////////////////////

RETHINK

Place your translucent soul in the path of the light,

let your love cast a shadow upon life’s canvas.

March through the graves with faith made of shrapnel,

let the victims find today an alibi for vindication.

Knead words into flesh, pretty dark day woman!

fry the dough in the boiling whirlpool of innocence.

There is serenity in the fire,

forbidden places have sacred grounds,

we can find healing in heaven’s venom.

Let the whirlwind of withered blossom

lure you into the garden of dreams,

come let us breed the everlasting.

No hope is lost under the bleeding sun,

thus before time comes to a standstill,

let us harvest peace where the enemies sleep.

Rethink family,

above brothers, beyond sisters,

water is thicker than blood,

perfection is vanity.

Forget the blood-hunger doctrine,

vultures wait to reap the beauty of dead cities.

Return no more to the origin of misery,

there are no blessings upon the throne of tyranny.

 Soonest

///////////////////////////////////////////////

RETHINK

This is what you think I am

A conscious thought leading one to another

Object of intuition, prediction, interpretation…..

Hnmnmnm

Right and wrong, that is me

I arrived without you knowing how I got there

I am the way you are wired to act

And in your mind, I go on silently

I make you a stranger to yourself

I make you know yourself better

Conscious and unconscious, it’s your choice

Before you take the next step, rethink

Wale Steven

////////////////////////////////////////

ODE TO A RETHINK

She strides the dawn with
Careless abandon,
My words fail me,
I am pregnant with unborn Ecstasies,
Her eyes are my Judas song,
I knock on the door
Of memoirs unspoken,
Of metaphors chasing shallow dreams,
She is my muse,
I should have asked her out,
Maybe,I would have earned blighted redemption,
Its too late for a rethink now,
I am sold to my heart's Golgotha,
A cross,I bear with token pride
Ugonna Teddy Richard

//////////////////////////////////////////

THE FIRST TIME HE CALLED MY NAME

I paused and thought about

white chocolate

not dark

white

pure pleasure

the way it dissolves in the mouth

and releases  exquisite sweetness

He called my name and it was

suffused with warmth

his voice,  like silk

smooth serenade

See

he called my name

And

wrapped it in fondness

and care

I felt it

right in the belly

soft fluttering of butterflies

He called my name

in humility

As if to say

“Who am I

that I be permitted to call you”

Yes

he took those two syllables

rolled them like dice

and poured my name

out

over me

with grace

my name

on his lips

gave me wings

Kemibon

//////////////////////////////////////

I THINK?

I think our leaders are honest and true

That they love this country and you

They bake our national cake with pride

Refusing to move any piece aside

Watching our cake rise

With content humble eyes

What do you think?

I think our schools are the best

If you protest then set a contest

Our teachers have grey caps

Our buildings beautify maps

We have no lapses or gaps

Our students do not lack

They even know Jack

What do you think?

I think the future is bright

New views... New light

No issues... No fights

Peace! Unity! and Equal rights!

We reach new heights

We have good foresight

Good life is our birthright

What do you think?

I think every man is free

To be who he wants to be

See what he wants to see

Say what he has to say

Play if he wants to play

Think thoughts all day

And for his own good, Pray!!

What do you think?

I also think my mum is the best 

My alma mata is better than the rest

I think I have the best of friends

And my love for words will never end

What do you think?

Well I'm done thinking 

Its time you rethink

Erhio Obodo

//////////////////////////

‘GENERATION THINKERS’

This one life we live,

Have two things involve, to live or to die,

Sometimes may be three sides,

Like that of a triangle,

But definitely four main directions,

Our five fingers stretched out,

To inform our six senses,

That our seventh illusion of perfection,

Are eight in line if we don’t hate,

Who of us has nine lives?

But we all hope to attain a perfect score of ten.

We are a blessed generation, O!

Sorry an addictive and vindictive generation,

Our generators of blood spilled fumes,

Ignites fear even to unborn generations,

These hooligans of pot-bellied generations,

Generate illusions of service to our ‘kwashiorkored’ bellies,

We are fed with distasteful crumbs,

Yet we generate smiles,

When a few notes are stashed in our leaking pockets,

Slavery binds us in slippery chains with bottles of addictive syrup,

Idle hands and feet generates smokes,

That stops the locomotive on its tracks,

Blame game is played.

Ideas well thought off are parried away with gloves of impartiality,

We only score goals if the referee is tipped,

Your file would be missing O!

If you don’t play game,

Marks and score cards are cash inked or body slept,

Appointment letters are typed on beds soaked with tears,

Its business as usual in the houses of leaders,

The streets would soon again be disturbed with our noises,

This air that permeates this adulterous and Sinful generation,

Is choking even to the harlots on the streets,

I guess our thinking caps are off,

Please let’s put them back on!

Asapen

@Akinyemi Akinmusire

/////////////////////////////////////////////

SOMEONE GREATER THAN GOD

So let's rethink and investigate:

How great is our God?

And can there really be someone greater than God?

Before you attempt to answer my question

Please take a pause;

Pay the fare, grab a ticket and come on board

My train of thoughts:

I once had a friend who had said some blasphemous words,

He wasn't only ranting, he was mad at God,

And this was quite surprising

because the person in question

was actually a Christian

who was a chorister

singing in three different churches

and obviously searching for more!

And knowing that there's nothing

Like a big bang that has no causation,

And nothing like an action without a motivation,

I probed a little deeper to sight the inspiration

For his throw of tantrums and curses at: “God”

Then I discovered:

That that friend of mine was born with a silver-spoon

But right now

Even Google couldn't search it out.

In his home, poverty reigned like she was falling from the sky

Oh no, there's nothing like a rich boy gone broke,

And yes, his was a broken home.

He watched as his family shatters apart

Like the Titanic hitting the iceberg in slow-motion,

Yet he was a Christian,

Studying hard but failed the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination

I mean, he failed with distinction

And so he motions with hard emotions towards God.

What's more?

His favorite Aunt was dying of cancer

Offering numerous prayers but no answer

Heaven was deaf, and mute, and blind

Insensible to his cries and numerous distress calls;

The angels in the control tower must have been drunk-sleeping,

It's like you're a victim

Calling 911 and there's none picking

Or a pilot screaming: “May Day! May Day! May Day!” but no answer,

Tell me,

What do you do when the music of your prayers in heaven has no dancer?

Especially when you're playing the right tune,

Hitting the right notes and doing the right things

Before a door that never opens up in the heavenlies,

Your answer, please?

So, that friend of mine said these words to cap it all:

“I am done with God

And He is so unFAIR that I think that He must be an African!”

Honestly? I agree with him.
Are we not just pawns in the chess game of this "big God"?
A godfather dangling puppet-like creatures?
A Creator who will only have mercy on whomever He chooses
How can you claim to be a just God when you deal in prejudice?
So this is me chucking up deuces,
I am done with God
'Cause I've found someone greater than He is.

Now, there's a big question mark over your heads

Asking “Who”, “What”, “When”, “Where”, “How”?

Tracing it back to the point of origin of man,

Adam was the son of God,

And when the devil tempted Adam and Eve,

They ate the fruit wanting to be like God

Meaning that they disbelieved that they were like God

Whom they already were,

And since as a man thinks in his heart, so he is

When Adam and Eve disbelieved, they ceased

Being like God and because anything unlike God is sin,

They came to be seen as “Sinners”.

The wages of the sins by which they earned a living was death

So Jesus came and died

And they say this same God loves the world so much

That He gave His Son just to die for us

And whosoever chooses to be foolish enough to believe in this

Is given the power to become a son of God as he was in the beginning?

Exposing a dual personality of the Creator:

He is God to all creatures

But Father to all those who believe in Jesus

John One verse Twelve says this

And a difference between a God and a Father is simply:

A God can only have mercy on whomever He chooses

But a Father is always responsible for His children

And of course, you can only get disappointed in someone you really trust,

So that friend of mine didn't get disappointed because he didn't trust in God.

See, many doubts of ours arise not out of a lack of trust in God,

But because we do not see God as a Father

And approach Him as sons just as He sees us.

But do not get carried away by all these words,

'cause I still am done with God,

'cause I've found someone greater than He is,

And his name is:

“The Father”.

Tolu Daniel

///////////////////////////////////

LIFE

Life they say is not a bed of roses

Neither is it a bed or a rose for that matter

Life is a laughter from uncertain hearts

It’s about the IT factor

The God Factor

And the You factor

Life is like a truth when everyone lies

It’s not only rebellious but a revolution so be careful

For we tear truths to shreds and reweave it as a lie

That is how we practice deceit

That is how we practice life

So rethink

Because you know sometimes we forget to fear death

Against the darkest angels of our nature

But then we must remember, because even in birth there is violence

So rethink

Forget about heroes and monsters

We have enough evil in sane men

To sink men into our darkest destiny

Life is not black and white

Nor any other shade for that matter

Life is

Take a pause

Hold on

There is an anchor

Love

Life they say is not enough time to love

So don’t be limited by one life time

Hold on to love with your soul spirit and body

There is strength in love like a pack of wolves

Remember there is no strength in fangs and claws

Rethink this life

Chisom