To visualize what you can’t see:
That’s the paradoxical pleasure of the mind.
In the afterbirth of seeing,
Death of imagination.
To dally on the brink of reality:
That’s the snug of life.
In the capitulation of the summit,
Paradoxical disappointment.
Now is the legend beyond
Become the cliche of the elements.
Shall the synthetic gauze
Atone for the beauty of the fertility lines?
Tochukwu Ezebube is a passionate poet and founder of Poem Collections. With a deep love for African verse and a commitment to sharing diverse poetic voices, Tochukwu curates a rich tapestry of poems that celebrate the beauty of words from Africa and around the world. Join him on this poetic journey at Poem Collections, where the magic of language unfolds.
Cliffs that rise a thousand feetWithout a break,Lake that stretches a hundred milesWithout a wave,Sands that are white through all the year,Without a stain,Pine-tree woods, winter and summerEver-green,Streams that for ever flow and flowWithout a pause,Trees that for twenty thousand yearsYour vows have kept,You have suddenly healed the pain of a traveller’s heart,And moved his…
To praise the blue whale’s crystal jet, To write, ‘O fountain!’ honouring a spout Provokes this curse: ‘The high are humbled yet’ From those who humble Godhead, beasthood, verse. Once, the Lord raised this bulwark to our eyes, Once, in our seas, whales threshed, The harpooner was common. Once, I…
Oh when will autumn moon and spring flowers end?How many past events I’ve known.The east wind buffeted my room again last night,I cannot bear to remember the bright moon of the old country.The marble steps and carved balustrades must still be there,The people’s rosy cheeks are all that’s changed.How much sorrow can one man have…
Backgroud of the poet John Pepper Clark was born Kiagbodo in Ijaw, 1935. He was educated at Government College, Ughelli and has an English degree from University College, Ibadan. He was the founding editor of The Horn, Student poetry magazines which played a crucial role in the history of literary development in Nigeria. He worked…
Love, let us live as we have lived, nor lose The little names that were the first night’s grace, And never come the day that sees us old, I still your lad, and you my little lass. Let me be older than old Nestor’s years, And you the Sibyl, if we heed it not. What…
O man! whose weakness dares rebel Against the Almighty’s strength, draw nigh And listen, for my tongue shall tell His message from the clouded sky. Midst rain, and storm, and hail, he spoke,Around the piercing thunder broke; At his proud word the clouds disperse, And thus he shakes the universe: ‘Come forth, then, in thy pride and power — Come answer me,…
