Poetry 1.0
I wrote my first poem when I was 9 years old. I can’t remember the exact words but I intended it to be a new national anthem and so I remember it contained fiery words and brave imagery.
You see, my first writing spurt was inspired by a sudden bout of political awareness and patriotism. There was this book in our home whose name I’ve been trying for years to remember, about the taming of the American frontier. It must have been borrowed by my siblings or myself, and it was chock full of American nationalism — stories of individual triumph, pictures of the Alaskan frontier, an account of how Francis Scott Key wrote The Star-Spangled Banner anthem, et cetera.
It was that account of Mr Key being inspired in the moment to write a poem after the British bombardment of Fort McHenry that sowed a seed my head.
It’s a memory I’ve harboured since childhood but seldom documented until now. It was the first time I attempted to write something original. It precipitated a new obsession with reading about government and watching the news every hour.
It’s amusing now how deeply committed I became overnight. I remember my mother’s concern over what just came over this child.
The phase passed eventually and it wasn’t until my first year of university that I would remember poetry again. I was bed-ridden for a week after dislocating my knee and somehow, while lost in that boredom wilderness, I ended up penning simple rhymes to break the monotony.
I’ll go on to document some of them as I remember, just because.
Here’s one..
Beggar Berber
I
Once did I meet a fair lady Berber
On Cele-Oshodi
Aloof I was to this dirty beggar
Till I examined she
II
Angelic face like it was cast with a-
cute craftskill saved for last
Grimy garments in clean contrast with her
beautiful figure cast
III
No wallets amongst the crowd bare, but hear
She begs for clement flair
I divorce all I have to spare, I fear
it cannot pay her fair
IV
At last at the end of the day unjust
Conductor demands pay
She clings to me in terror, nay such trust
I could never betray
2.0
I’ve preferred sing-song poems with metre and rhyme ever since. ☺
