Colourless Rainbow - Poems By Senator Ihenyen
- By Senator Ihenyen
- Published July 2, 2007
- Poetry
-
Rating:
Senator Ihenyen
Senator Iyere Ihenyen was born in Lagos, but hails from Esan-West L.G.A., Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria. He writes poetry, short fiction and engages in literary research. Recognised by a U.K-based organization, Outspoken, in 2006 as 'one of the significant voices in Africa pushing the boundaries of contemporary African Literature.' The late and respected Nigerian editor and critic, Okey Okpa, had described the young writer as his 'future Poet Laureate' in 2008.
While some of his poems have been published in local dailies such as the Daily Times, New Age and Business Times, his early works have also been featured in international anthologies published by the U.K.-based Anchor Books, Poetry Stop, Canada, and the U.S.-based Voices Network, where his poetry has been given special international recognition.
Currently in a full-time Law Degree programme in the University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, he has been serving as the Campus President of Golden Minds Centre, a youth-focused organisation. With an inveterate interest in Literature, especially creative writing, Colourless Rainbow: Poetry of My Childhood is forthcoming from Coast2Coast, Lagos.
His website
BLOODBATH
Bloodbath!
I see bloodbath bursting in your eyes and
splashing in the thunderstorms of your nights! It is not the lightning that flashes
in the sky on these frightened faces, but the rage of our endless strives
and bloody battles in our drunken earth, drenching our wings of dreams!
Bloodbath!
It is not thunder that thumps in the deafening sky!
And neither are they the echoes of our drums under the
moon drunken with the palm-wine of our dances! They are the bloody bombs
blowing our hearts to pieces in violent explosions,
drowning our innocent lamentations!
Bloodbath!
These are not the colours of the rainbow that I see in the sky
rising above our hopeless heads! But ribbons of our blood
gushing and rushing like a horrible nightmare in our arch of hate f
rom our hearts of plagues!
Bloodbath!
It is not rain that rushes with pain
down these wounded eyes and swollen faces! They are the swords of our tears
tottering down in heavy
drops
of
despair!
Bloodbath!
...it is not ink
that pours in the pen of this poet with pain...
but our innocent tears and blood!
MASSES AND THE MASQUERADES
Masquerades dance to the drums of dawn to the twinkle of twilight
and weave in the soul of night under the melody of moonlight
Yet, no emissaries from the gods;
no words of peace in the wind as the masquerades weave with deceptive delight
and no words of hope in their dazzling dance-steps;
and our tomorrow is so gloomy even as they toss and toss endlessly!
The masquerades swirl and twirl with whirls of colours,
painted with our blood, yet there is no joy in our hearts…
no promises for our hopelessness!
When the dance is over
and the last buttocks have rippled away with the last laughter drowned by the wind
and heads lie hopeless in their huts with grey emptiness
The masquerades need water to wash their ungodly faces
But our wells are empty, our rivers dry, our calabash broken
and our little lives mad with misery...
but with our tears
With these torrent of tears on our swollen eyes,
we shall splash our sorrow on their heartless faces and bath them with the blood
of our stabbed hope and dreams,
And maybe these marauding masquerades will be unmasked,
and we shall see the rays of the sun in our darkened huts again
in the blaze of tomorrow...
RAINBOW LOVE
I see the
Rainbow rising from the horizon
As the enchanted eyes of earth run to the hills
Wondering
How many colours it would take to paint the world
with such beauty
such harmony
such love…
If only we could
Look into the eyes of the living around us,
And see
that the rainbow lives there too