Susan Daniels Poetry

 We ran there, my mother and I. We were running with the group, running in the street, running for the line. We were running when the first explosion tore the crowd apart. My brother was in that crowd. My mother ran to where he had been, to where we saw him last. I ran after her, calling his name. We could not find him. We found only blood, and the pieces of other mother’s sons, other sister’s brothers. Last month, we lost my father. Now we have lost my brother. Our world is torn apart. My name is Abida and I live in Baghdad. My name is Badria and I live in Kabul. My name is Brigid and I live in Dublin. My name is Abby and, yes, I live in Boston. The ear of compassion hears the voice of the other no matter how far away the voice is…

Another long day, and aside from the joy of coming home to my husband (to-be), and the purring ministrations of our cat Milton, a late dinner and a glass of a lovely Argentinian blend (Cab-Malbec-Syrah), it is again poetry that soothes my soul, and calms me down.

Like last night’s, this post, and possibly tomorrow’s will be on the short side, but I’ve been reading more and more by today’s poet lately, and I will likely read something more by her before Poetry Month is over.

She and I share a common hero in William Stafford, and of her Stafford has said,

In the current literary scene, one of the most heartening influences is the work of Naomi Shihab Nye. Her poems combine transcendent liveliness and sparkle along with warmth and human insight. She is a champion of the literature of encouragement and heart. Reading her work enhances life.

By Noel A. Ihebuzor

Title – Today na Today

Author – Biko AGOZINO

Publishers – Omala Media Ltd, Awgu, Enugu

Year of Publication – 2013

I have just been privileged to read a collection of poems  most of them in pidgin English by Biko Agozino. Onwubiko Agozino (Biko), is a Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA

The collection, titled “Today na Today” is made of 36 poems, 31 of which are in pidgin English and the last 5 in standard English. The poems treat a broad range of contemporary social issues in Nigeria from life in our typical urban ghettos characterised by “face me- I face you” type of accommodation to protests over the conditions of host communities in the oil rich Niger delta of Nigeria. The issues covered are indeed broad but a common thread of social relevance unites them all. Take the poem…