Regeneration on Women’s Day

Hello, My name is Niel and these are the ChristaPoet Freestyle Sessions. This year, ChristaPoet wants to give you a special perspective to our freestyles. At first, some of these poems were published as stand-alone pieces. But in actuality, each poem is an untitled part of a freestyle session. Each freestyle session is given a topic for the poems to address.

I had told you in the first part of this piece, that these poets wrote 18 poems on this day, 25th February 2022. I want to do a sort of back and forth with the period that I draw pieces from. This time, I am continuing my account of a more recent time.

The topic is Regeneration.

And I bring you Zoe Ziva, writing at 10:33am, on the 25th of February:


That same Spirit that raised up Christ from the dead, heal your mum and heal my pastors wife too.

Vitalizing, regenerating, nothing broken, nothing missing.

Cardiac arrested, arrested the evil one, our prayers will not cease, this peace will not rest in this, for she will see the light of day on earth, stand on her two feet, her memory will reboot, amnesia would not be a name.

Your mum’s eyes will regenerate, God’s healing balm still has Gilead on it, now it resides in our heart.

Our faith will rise, our hands lifted, we do not forsake our own mercies, we choose to trust in The King rather than observe Lying vanities.


Since I’ve been younger till now that I’m grown, I’ve always seen that faith always wins.
Even in our time, this testimony would be so.

Rejoice.


And at 11:05 AM, the Elegant and Elusive Imani Dokubo:


I join you in prayers
I agree with you in faith
Her sight is restored
Her healing permanent

She sees clearly
The goodness and mercy of our God never runs out on her

We rejoice not in the future but now, for the end we have seen clearly.


Again, let me paint the context. So, one of us, Ade, had just written a freestyle spurt in which he indicated that his mother had just undergone surgery. We all subsequently dove into praying for her through our poetry…very touching stuff.

At 11:08 AM, Aebube with the kiss kiss emojis, wrote:


Just a turned ignition and boom
Men set off in tripedation

It’s not a holy feeling, the jitters are killing slowly
It made me sorrow only

Tell me I’m going to heal really quick from this fear and trepidation, this isn’t some perdition
right?

Of course it isn’t
For Christ paid the ultimate price so I’m forever freed from its shackles

My life is not on hold I’ve been unshackled from the chains of fear, the word alone regenerates me

For he has not given me the spirit of fear but of sound mind and power

Who I’m to agitate about tomorrow’s out come when Yahweh is there

He is the way, the truth and the life, for him alone I mount with wings like an eagle yet do not faint

My strength renewed, no cent used.


She posted that, and after a few minutes, at 11:50 AM, she continued:


They tried to bury me
Not ones
Not twice
For the third time I’m being covered with earth

Fascinating right?
So much they didn’t know
Ohhhh men carefully calculate

With vigour they plan our undoing yet
Ignorance deprive them of their sight

They can’t see right
Though all calculations seemed just perfect

They buried themselves and thought they’re done for, here we’re spouting a leave

With our lips pouted in mockery
They’re left in awe
Our God’s way smarter

We’re his seed buried to regenerate
Just like him we rise
Again and again we’re crowned with Victory to stay above and not beneath.


And then, my darling MeerahZoe, wrote this at 11:53 AM:


What’s more beautiful than a birth?
A rebirth.
The beautiful promise of a second chance
A do over when you’re done over

Twice I’ve lain in the fetal position
The first time oblivious to my existence
The second time wanting to end it

See pain is selfish, you only feel it when you’re self focused.
The man who invented diversional therapy would be out of business otherwise.

Twice I’ve lain in the fetal position
The first time oblivious to my Father’s company
The second time too self-seeing to see Him

It’s easier to ask for a break and a do over,
Blaming the God who supposedly didn’t give it
Than it is to see that the new life He gave you is all the practice you need to be reborn

But pain is selfish, and I would rather reject His comfort than put in the work.
Our faith walk however is sometimes like school, you don’t get past any stage without doing the work.

Standing on my feet again, I hope the sight of the ground from this angle is enough to remind me the next time
That a righteous man can fall seventy times
And rise up seventy times.


Today’s article has consisted strictly of women. I did not really plan that it should be so, but so it has come to pass. Today also happens to International Women’s Day. It makes me wonder, is there a local women’s day?

We hail the woman; for her tenacity, patience, kindness, beauty and industry.

Happy International Women’s Day


Authors:
Zoe Ziva
Imani Dokubo
Ebube
MeerahZoe

Nothing and Everything

The world is enraptured by an eery turbulence.

The kind that makes me want to step out of my skin and watch my flesh, blood and bones wriggle on the floor, half dead. She rides me like a wild horse and I am more than receiving of her deathly blows.She hates me, because You Love Me.

 

You, The Universe of the Universe. I am willing to die a thousand times to get away from her, she knows this, she is furious, because there has been no guilt in years, only this freedom that comes from swift forgetfulness. This silence that comes from immense helplessness.

 

But often now I ask, What must I do to be saved daily? Nothing He says, “Nothing and everything”, He smiles at me His smile is fire, I melt.  The place of surrender I do not quickly recognize till I have rebelled.

 

What would it take for you to open my eyes and keep them there? “Nothing and everything, sweetheart just STAY”… Let me never leave this place of sanity I beg. This battle its for True Life, I’m unashamed.

For me to rise again and again, the ultimate plan, the reason you came.

” just part of it my Bride, for this cause and much more I came, my honor on the line, an eternal law I had to obey, That being connected to you only in death could I LIVE and now you must do the same”…

Cold Love brought shivers down my spine, like breath forming misty smoke In the Presence of His divine…

” You staked it all when you chose to redeem, it was Life or death, you chose to Live”

Life has never been easier ever since, knowing fully well that the life I live now is His..

I saw in His eyes the Love of Loves, a burning wrath completely satisfied.

 

“Don’t you get it My Bride, I’ve seen it all, I know how it ends, before you had the choice, I chose to Live… I’d never leave my own, my depth in you calls me deeper, an eternal bond, a pull I can’t refuse, wait for me, I come quickly, I desire to be united with me, more than you think, Wait For Me…”

 

  • Osione Abokhai

#TheConversation

Saved.

“I can’t remember if I seduced him or if he came calling for me.”

 

All I remember was the loud stumps of angry feet drawing closer and closer. Huge arms whisked me away from him and led me to the slaughter ground. My partner wasn’t with me. I don’t know why… but they let him go.

 

Fear gripped me.

 

My stomach rumbled.

My feet quaked.

 

So this is it for me? A painful death by stoning. I could imagine the heavy bricks landing on my soft skull. I knew the penalty of adultery, but I did it anyway. The fear of punishment didn’t stop my desires. Why is sin so strong even with the law?

 

As I kept thinking, they dragged me into the temple and brought me to the teacher. He was called ‘Rabbi.’

“We caught this woman in adultery”, they said. “And according to Moses’ law,” they continued. “We must stone her to death. So what do you say?”

 

He didn’t reply them. He stooped low and wrote in the dust. My heart almost stopped. It seemed like my life was in his hands.

 

His reply would save me from death…

His reply would save me from condemnation..

His reply would give me a second chance.

 

“My Lord, please say something!” my eyes screamed

 

Just then, he looked up and said “All right! But let he who has no sin be the first to cast the stone.”And he continued writing on the dust.

 

Silence.

 

The murmurings gave way…

and one by one… each of them went their ways. Leaving me alone in dismay.

I was dumbfounded! So, we all have sinned? I thought it was just me.

He looked at me and said; “Where are your accusers? No one condemns you?”

“No one  Lord.” I replied.

 

“Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” He said.

And I never left his side since that day.

 

  • Ebisike Amarachi

#TheConversation

Crossed Roads

So, here I am,  stuck on the cross

Paying the ultimate price for my wrong

Feeling my life seep slowly out of me

Looking down at my accusers, scorning me and my colleagues.

 

Well…

Colleague and one other man

Of  whom I know so little about

Of all the things I’ve heard,

It’s that he doesn’t deserve to be up here

 

Well, my colleague thinks otherwise

Since he’s been taunting and  mocking him,

“If you really are the Christ, then save us!” he says

“how can you say such, seeing we deserve to be here?” I answered.

 

However when I look at him

I felt an indescribable thing

So different from what I’ve felt since I made my first kill

 

I knew, I just knew he was going somewhere

Somewhere good.

So maybe, just maybe, I could go with him

So, I throw in me last bargaining chip

“Lord,  remember me when you come into your paradise”

 

Then he turned his eyes to me.

And I wondered, “how could someone in such amount of pain,

Much greater than the one I’m feeling, have such compassion?”

He says, ” I assure you,  today, you well be with me in paradise”

 

Then peace flooded my heart

I knew that for once in my wretched life

I’d finally done the right thing.

 

  • Emenike Chinwendu (2017)

#TheConversation