Tag: Heal

A tale of compassion and faith

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Penspeak Communities across Nigeria have recently taken up Freestyle Fridays hosted by The Godzniel. This is a collection of poems from Penspeak Community UNEC freestyles in January 2025.

From the watchtower, Iruoma cried out:

I am compassion, a gentle breeze
That calms a raging soul and quiets pain to freeze
I run in obscurity, yet understanding I seek
To heal a silent wound that mouth can’t utter

Like flower that blooms in desert oasis
So am I, a savour taste to the broken soul
I’m a badge of mercy, worn by one who’s torn
An irresistible gentle word, that calms a storm

I see beyond the fist, the anger and pain
And serve a feast of kindness, to wash the heart’s deep stain
I’m a dose of hope, that keeps each day aglow
A beacon of light, in the darkest place I go

I am compassion, I offer listening ears
Pay attention and owe no debt to negligence
I am the greatest gift to humanity
The loudest voice of love
I walk enduring miles
Leaving trails of smiles

Taking the wheel again, Iruoma launched:

With heart swift and low on  paths unknown
I plead to listen to the quiet whisper, that binds me whole
With convictions strong on choices made

I plead to heed the persistent voice of truth
With barns so enriched, and yards full of glittering gold
I pray to harvest, with mind full of sight

To sift grain from chaff, and separate truth from false
And with each step to embark, a journey of uncertainty
I pledge to trust the gentle guide

For He’s the spirit of the divine, with mysteries to unveil
He grants a sense of immortality, in the stillness, a peaceful knowing of secrets untold.
And moments to disobey in doubt, are times to will in regret

Not wanting the momentum to die out, Neche Goodnews took the baton on the relay:

 “Wish upon a shooting star and make your wish come true”
Senior said to me as we stared at the night sky
“So, make the wish”, he said to me as I was beholding the awe of the star littered sky
I close my eyes and make my wish and open my eyes into the present
A decade had gone by but I still reminisce the days gone by
I fasten up my tie while facing the mirror

What a decade it has been
Peril and strife fought their way into my world but I persevered
The psychological breaks and lapses chipped away at my very soul but I didn’t derange
As I go towards my bag, a thought enters my mind and a smile is found on my face
“Your wish is profound and pure, its impact, ground shaking, all I might not see it actualised but I can behold its potential”
Senior said to me, that was one of our last conversations
“It’s no time to slack, the world will soon be in awe”
I say as I take my bag and leave my place

People see the outcome of reality
I behold a future of possibilities
My wish would ensure that
Until then, I carry on

See you next month!

Authors:
Iruoma
Neche Goodnews

Ode to Poetry

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Oh poetry, art of language divine,
With words that flow, in meter and rhyme,
You paint a picture with each verse and line,
A tapestry woven, with thought so fine.

You give voice to what lies in the heart,
Emotions raw, made into art,
With rhythm and sound, you play your part,
To heal and comfort, from the start.

You take us on journeys to far off lands,
To meet characters, in your written hands,
You let us feel what it’s like to stand,
In someone else’s shoes, and understand.

Poetry, you challenge and inspire,
With truth and beauty, you never tire,
A spark that ignites, with a single fire,
Bringing wonder to all, higher and higher.

So here’s to you,
dear poetry, we sing,
With each word,
our hearts take flight
and wing,
With you, we soar, our spirits take wing,
You are the soul of language, the art it brings.

Tolulope Amao
© 2023

Body Count

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I like God
Heal.
Same intentions against the devil and his ant hill.
When we see ailments ping a body down to zero
We pong and ten is what the healing scores


Your real you is not you
Body bags,
Dead men call, we are here for the body count
Lined like stomach walls, we were built to digest em all
Pand or epid we emic all
I mean we emit all
Light is how we resist, dull
Sick is what we kick out
Polio
Sons of the most H, H for holy o!!!

UC Truth
©2021

Box

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How do you keep the voices within silent?
How do you keep these storms of insecurities from surfacing ?
How do you unbox yourself?
Set free from all the labels and tags set by the world..

Am I bound to these stereotypes as Christian?
If God created me differently,
Then why do I need to fit my person into a genre,
Must I lock put emotions because I was born a man?
Never to shine on another’s face,
Or heal my neighbour’s heart

My heart is dense from my thoughts a hole, drilled by confusion,
How do I keep these emotions from leaking?
Before I drown and become another zombie,
A walking dead; no emotions no feelings,
Just another man trying to fit in,
Another statistics,
Somebody should tell me, please,
What does it mean to be Masculine?

Adeleye Olaoye
©2021

Dear Black Child

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Dear black child, You will heal
Heal from the scars buried 6 feet
Deep within the pores of your skin
Wounds that festered on your emotions
And shattered your heart into a million pieces
Now your heart is nothing but a broken glass
Learning how to reflect your wholeness
The image of a girl that once loved

Centuries from now,
When the dust is shaped from your bones,
History will tell a tale of courage,
Of a woman who pulled her weight,
Against the odds clawed around her neck,
How from ashes and burning embers
Built an Empire with and sweat,

Your bones will be a blueprint,
A speck of dust igniting generations,
A gene of women who don’t bend to raging winds,
History will tell a tale of a Woman,
A Warrior emerging from within you,
How you faced your fears,
And became a woman emerging,
An open letter when they unearth you,

A testament of weathering storms,
Taking down giants with your love,
You are a promise of resurrection,
Reminding them that red sea parted in your views,
And when you whispered your last breath,
The night spoke the language of love,
Living blueprints in our heart,

Dear Black child,
You are a miracle folded in the form of a woman,
A woman becoming, learning the intricate language of love,
You were born for this sort of heavy lifting,
You were born a part saint, a part warrior,
And you have emerged the Genesis
Of a new breed of women,
A linkage of goddesses

Dear black child,
You are a goddess,
An ancient scripture,
A prophecy lies in your heartbeat,
This revelation is nestled in your palms;
Truly, greatness lies in your loins!
Live it! Breathe it!


Olaoye Adeleye
(C) 2021.

FLAME ON

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Isn’t it sad how in a blink of an eye, your world can just flipped like a light switch
You were once top draw now it seem like you have been relegated to the bottom
You thought you had finally carved a niche for your self
That your art will set the world on fire
That nothing could stop you from climbing that pedestal and get higher
Suddenly reality hits you like a drunk driver
That sometimes, the only thing you get higher on have now become dark clouds forming in your lungs
Or drowning your pains at the depth of the green bottle
You wish it could take your thoughts far away from this world like a space shuttle or shield your mind from harsh reality’s sun but even that ain’t strong enough

You have come to realized that Life can become that bully always ready to treat you
But all you ever desired is a soft landing
Become Superman so your skin can be tough
But you see these streets, she no get Joy
What was once beautiful like Helen of Troy
The streets will destroy
Plant a decoy to take your gaze from your goal
Throw mirage of fame and fortune, her aim is to cajole
Sinking you deep into depression and locking you in her hole

Your heart is finally empty, she has stolen your soul
Now you are wandering loose like a kite
Looking for who to take away this noose off your neck and free you from your plight
But in all these struggles, one thing must be gained
That Flicker of hope and faith that you must refuse to extinguish
That call to turn on your human torch and continually show the world what you are fantastic for
That call to distinguish yourself from the lot
That call to tear up the old story and write yourself a new plot
To drift your mind from the norm into certainty

This should always send excitement bubbling on your inside
That you can’t wait to Ex yourself from your past life
You can’t wait for this cross to become a source of strength
Can’t wait to flame on and set the world on fire
Can’t wait to speak resurrections to those souls that have wallowed too long in this graveyard
Can’t wait to help heal minds that have been marred
To clot hearts that have been scared
Yes, your hurt is what’s burning now but no pain is eternal
You can rise from these ashes like a Phoenix
And if you don’t like the song life is singing, just hit her with the remix
Never forget that you are that fire this world has been waiting for
So what are you waiting for,
Flame On!!!

Uba Isoje
©2021

The Bleeding Heart

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The blood she shed was all her own.
She’d found no way to staunch the flow
For twelve long years.
The cost to her in doctors’ care
Was nothing to her shame and her enormous fears.
Unclean and thus untouchable
She knew she’d live and die alone in blood and tears.

The world had turned its back on her
And all she saw and all she touched was tinged with red.
Denied the right to worship God,
Denied the Temple courts by law, her soul was dead.
Denied all comfort, love of friends
And touch of man, she kept alone her blood-stained bed.

Her last hope lay in this new man,
But with her touch she’d make him, too, unclean, outcast.
And should she even hope for help?
Of all the people God might heal she was the last.
For it was God who sent the curse,
The blood and shame, the loneliness, through Laws He passed.

In spite of all these doubts and fears,
Mistrust of God, she took her chance – a touch unseen.
Then, Jesus, the untainted, changed the Law to Love.
Her world became new, fresh and green.

The blood He shed was all his own,
And flowing down it covered her and washed her clean.

Pamela Urfer
© 2021

If Time Heals

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They say time will heal
But I doubt if that’s real
Cause time’s not a pill
I held unto time, time after time
Hoping it would change my life for good, but with time I got disappointed by time

Now my past haunts me
and my present taunts me of the past that hurts me
I’m left in depression
With my so many impressions that lacks expression

Time shipwrecked my faith
Left me in a state
Where I’m at the mercy of fate
To embrace and appreciate that which I hate

Now it feels like my world’s over
Cause time seems to be an enemy under cover
And the approach of death turned me a philosopher
If time can heal then even time needs some time to heal.

But no matter how much time you give to time, it still can’t heal cause time’s not a healer

But I know someone who can heal
One who heals without a bill
The mentioning of his name brings down every knee
He’s Jesus the Christ.


Victor Clement
(C) 2020