Tag: true

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

Gone prodigal again

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_I did it again!_
Left my place of rest in search of fading bliss
I called ‘inheritance’ what was mere gifts
Dropped my daily routine to unwind with wild parties
Past achievements that have become ashes
I knew I was out of power but the fan’s still turning in my direction and it felt cool
I knew my embers were getting cold but I couldn’t resist the urge to dance without recharging and see what it felt like
I knew my  light was getting dimmer but I claimed I was shining in the darkness
Away from my Source
Away from who made me son
Away from my true inheritance
Away from my natural habitat

_I did it again!_
How can I face Father this time with shoes on?
How can I expect his forgiveness after the limit for a day?
How can I tell him his robe got torn?
How can I tell him the reason I am back was the memory of the tasty beef in my mouth?
That I want to be welcomed again?
That He was right and I lived wrong again?
How can I tell him I did it again?

Hannah DGinus
©2024

The Three Abstractions

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Time like air is boundless, existing independent of us
Helping us take note, employing us
To nurture after our to-do-list
Yet reminding us the risk
of not being
of not seeing
The thought of it as illusion only makes bold the impact on our vision
An endless circle
Old enough to seal life’s chronicles
Yet does nothing to change it
The only certified entity to bridge it.

Love like the sea, is deep
Accommodating everything cold
and warm-blooded
Not seeking its own way
Needs nothing external to become
Countless questions on its existence
Unending thoughts on its purpose
And like the absence of peace
Making monsters of those who go by without it
The true essence of its fragrance waiting always on those who have gone past feeling
to becoming love.

Death, what happens when you’re busy making other plans
Claiming more lives with its rude interruption
The least talked about of all three
Yet with each blow comes a string of thought on time and love
Each seized breath a trail of shadows to your canvas
With more questions than answers
How much time is left?
Is love evident?
What next after death?

Imani Dokubo
©2021

THE MERCY THAT BROKE ME

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I was Confused, I knew my acts were wrong
but worst, I was caught
and no excuse was permitted
my execution was at hand
knowing what’s at stake
I couldn’t stop tears from flowing even If I tried
I was among they that accused me
hand in hand with the Law
I brutally slit my soul and cried as I bled

Behind, around and within me stood my accusers
yelling and jeering at me
the sounds of their voices aching my heart and soul
I was pushed with sticks from behind and pulled violently by the law
my wrists bound with its ropes tightly knotted
sighs of agony escaped through my clenched teeth as I was pulled
couldn’t shut my ears to the scorns and insults
I was paraded naked for them to laugh at and spit on
those who had been with me in the act condemned me even more
my sin was announced as we moved through the streets
the voices of those behind, around and within me hand in hand with the law accused me
They brutally slit my soul and watched me bleed

As we approached the temple
I could see him faintly through my tears-blurred vision
I had heard of him but
the words he said were too good to be true
My accusers hated his guts
though they’re powerless against it
it was his words against their world
they hated him more because he Claimed to be The MESSIAH
His name was and still is Jesus Christ
each time I saw Him teaching the multitude
I would wondered if he saw through me
and what he would say to me if we ever had an encounter
I was called out of reminiscence by the voices of my accusers
accounting my sins before Him as they eagerly await His judgment
while they stood relaying my sins before him
I bent down my head in shame and tears filled my eye
He bent down likewise and started writing something on the ground
which made it obvious, he wasn’t interested in all the accusations placed before him
he stood up only to vindicate me from my outward accusers with these words:
“He who is without sin among you should cast the first stone”
Surprisingly, They were honest enough to admit none is sinless
As they dropped my case along side their stones and stepped away
He stood up knowing I still accused me with support from the law
He said, “Where are your accusers, hath no one condemn you?”
I replied rather soulful “No one”
as the knowing hit me that I was standing alone
then he vindicated Me from myself and from the law
saying; “even I do not condemn you… go and Sin no more”

Just like that! I wondered
I was broken inside, not by fear but by Love
He didn’t even look at me with judgments in his eyes
but with love
I felt like a child in the warmth of a Father embrace
He gave me hope
I knew then Jesus loved me regardless of what I had done
There I decided that I was never going back to shame,
for the love is strong enough to restrain me
I knew that I would no longer be accused and condemned
Not by any man, not by the Law, not by me
Because Jesus Himself had told me EVEN I, DO NOT CONDEMN YOU
Hand in hand with God’s Love, The Grace of JESUS has set me free
Tended my wounded soul and watched me spring up to life in Christ
Hallelujah!

PearlyThoughts
©2021

Kings and Pawns

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“We’re all Kings and Pawns,”
Napoleon Bonaparte once said,
“We’re all Emperors.”
“We’re all Fools.”

Funny he should say that.
We, like two Kingdoms, square up.
Blacks against Whites.
Decisions. Decisions.

What’s in your hand, sir?

King Pawn to King Four.
Small beginning steps we take
Believing we’re each of us
The only star in our own movie.

But Knight to Queen’s Bishop Three.
Counter moves from counter selves
We sabotage our own efforts
And wonder what’s afoot.

We’re all Kings and Pawns
Though each man in his own heart
Thinks himself different from all.
Superior to all the human-ness.

What’s in your hand, ma’am?

When Bishop takes Bishop,
And we face our true desires
We all deny our deepest truths
For Ego’s sake, for Pride’s joy.

What miserable life we lead
As we approach our end-games
This chessboard cleared of all
And the space evident in all things?

Queen to King’s Rook Three.
Discover Check. And trouble finds us.
Run we may, but hide we can’t.
Now matter where we turn to.

What is this you have in your hand,
Oh fallen man – son of Eve?
What is this you carry in your heart
Oh, daughter of the damned?

If King takes Knight Pawn,
I hope never again will it be said
That we sought for what we knew not
And that all man listened to his own heart.

We’re all Kings and Pawns,
A man once said to the world.
And he – that brilliant devil – he was right.
We’re all – all of us – Emperors. Fools.

Ask not what Mgbeke plans for dinner.
Wonder not when Mgbafo will get married.
What’s in your hand, people of God?
Mind your own business.

Nonso John
(C) 2021

John

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There was a man who came from God.
His name was John.
He wandered through the wilderness
With nothing on.

He ate whatever crossed his path,
The desert’s gifts,
He never bathed; he had no friends,
Just relatives.

He was a cousin of Our Lord
Through his mama,
And learned the Prophets and Torah
From his papa.

When God told him the time was ripe,
He left his cave,
And went down to the riverbank,
His soul to save.

He preached the coming Kingdom,
Then, full of grace,
He knew the true Messiah when
He saw his face.

“It is my cousin, Jesus!” said he,
In wild surprise,
As Jesus gazed at him with
Burning eyes,

He heard, “This is the end of the
Beginning and
The beginning of the end,
My friend.”

Pamela Urfer
© 2021

Tamed Fire

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I was fire.
Burning for everything compatible with my flame,
A furious force blazing to the tunes of the wind.
I was fire.
Feeding flesh it’s wild cravings, basking in the heat of ecstasy,
With traces of ashes and desolation.
I was fire.
Burning without apology for everything but God.
It’s true, I was once the fire,
But now I’m gold.

Imani Dokubo
© 2020