Children of the Netherworld - Poems by Denrele Ogunwa
- By Denrele Ogunwa
- Published May 23, 2005
- Poems
-
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Denrele Ogunwa
Denrele Ogunwa is a journalist and poet currently residing in England. Her poetry, articles and columns have appeared in newspapers and magazines in Nigeria and England. An aesthete and lover of jazz music, Denrele's muses are passion, darkness and light, not necessarily in that order. Her poems re-echo the theme of escape from night into dawn, a consistent search for doorways that lead out and away from the present into some other place full of promises and new beginnings. She is featured in the German translation of Nigerian poetry selected by Uche Nduka, Junge Nigerianische Lyrik. She has a degree in Political Science.
View all Entries by Denrele OgunwaUntitled
Let the mind's tide
blow it's debris ashore...
I search
for a glimmer of light
an exit
from this tunnel of darkness
As the rain-clouds
glide smoothly open
to reveal radiant sunshine...
The traveller
walks forlornly
through the dense, dark jungle
searching for light
Let the smog lift
and the cobwebs blow
from long forgotten corridors
borne away
on the teasing breath
of the airy breezes of discovery...
I shall pull down the barrier
stone by painstaking stone
to get to the other side of darkness
to find light
Let the light shine and cleanse
illuminating discovery
finding the self...
I shall cut down this jungle
prune every branch, fell every tree
until the light shines through
It is time...
Red
I am in my last phase
of confusion
before complete madness
the red blaze
that heralds the setting sun
My mind's eye sees red
the sixth sense
buzzes a warning signal
I face the sword
that knights and beheads
my fate to choose
This time I grab tight
clutching my heart
like a talisman
counting the beads of past tears
like a rosary
I begin to pray...
She's leaving
Parting is like:
Heavy stones
cast on a lake of memories
light feathers and clouds
slave to life's breezes
and rain
here tethered by the familiar
I scan new horizons
the cord loosens
wherever I am
I nurse my alien heart
and like the snail
make myself
Home.
Songs of desire
I love to hear you
sing your songs
Bard
when your loins are heavy
and your heart is light
and we lie entwined
hiding shared secrets
We sing duets
my Bard and I
far into the night
composing love songs
of a primitive kind
winding insidiously
with our movement
until movement and song
become one
You watch
as I drown in the song
dancing frenzied death-dance
Will you join this dance
Bard?
Sing the final
Spread The Word
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1 Response to "Children of the Netherworld - Poems by Denrele Ogunwa" 
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said this on 21 Nov 2005 9:11:45 PM EDT
Just browsing, and noticed your poems, Denrele. Doubt if you remember me. Long ago. Ibadan. Lagos. Good to know you are still singing.
Afam. |
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