New year new faith

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

Our very own MC Wisdom set the Christendom ball rolling,

Ladies and gentlemen,
Listen up, I’ve got a message for the masses
To the ones who think they can hold me back, I’ve got a few words to amass

This is not another new year, new me
And to everything and everyone who dissed me
This year you better receive sense, so free me

I’ll rise above the noise, I’ll shine like the morning sun
On every stage, I will stand my ground, call me the chosen one

So, to whom it may concern, listen up and take heed
I’m the MC WISDOM not to be reckoned with, my voice is a thunder that comes with a lightning decree

I’ll speak my truth, I’ll stand my ground
I’ll be the change, I’ll turn things around

So, watch me rise, watch me soar
I’m untamed and unstoppable, so sit back and watch out for more “MC WISDOM”

Just as we were still in awe of this grace, Delight came and gave us;

SCREENSHOT OF FAITH

In a world that judges by value and birth,
To us…the dreamers and the doers,
What shall we say to these things?
In a world of scrolling, tapping and clicking,
Where moments pass like a flash, never quite stopping.
There is one thing we capture, though abstract even to the believer.

You know,
The Youth today are chasing dreams
Like flashes on a screen…
Flickering fast, chasing fast, but what does this mean?
One wrong step, one wrong foot…
And you are back to square one questioning your truth.
Faith, they say, is the light at the end of the tunnel.
But what if the tunnel’s a mirror, a reflection of your struggles?
Like a dog chasing its tail, we run around in circles,
Dreams dangle like carrots, but we can’t even find the hurdles.
Irony lives here, right here in our struggle to rise,
The higher we reach, the higher the price we pay.

We keep chasing this lady ‘success’ just as she waltzes away,
More like the sun which rises but still sets at the end of the day…
We live in a world where everything is loud,
Where the pressure to rise feels like breaking the crowd!
We post, we hustle, we strive for the spotlight,
Trying to make a name in a world full of wrongful rights.
We keep chasing followers, likes and applause,
But the real faith is not about these shallow laws.

A screenshot of Faith is the courage to start.
It’s trusting yourself when the world says ‘wait’ …
It’s finding your power even when the world system says it’s too late.
It’s not about the speed or how fast you fly
It is just the courage to leap even when you can’t touch the sky!
It will tell you to walk, and then vanish from your sight
Leaving you wondering, “Am I wrong or right?”
So trust me when I say this one can’t be saved to your gallery… it’s not a picture, it’s more than a name.
It is the belief that in time we all shall find our flame.

We wrap up our freestyles here. It’s always an honor to be part of this. See you next month.

Authors
MC WISDOM
DELIGHT SHEKELS

Ode to my father

As a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.
Deuteronomy 1:31

My father believes that children
Are God’s benevolence to a lineage
Treasures committed to their parents
So he lets himself shepherd them
Offering fortification & fortune

I’ve heard of fathers who bathe their children with curses
& then dry their future with a flaming tongue
But my father wakes up every morning
Breaks the dew of heaven on us
Greening us to greatness with his prayers—
Our shield against daily darts

Today, we are the celebrities he couldn’t become;
Giants the world applauds
But he, an unnamed hero who
Laid down his armour to watch us win
Oh, my father is such a jewel among other fathers!

Ayooluwa Imisi
(c) 2024

Ode to Poetry

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

Your Poetry

Reinvent the rhythm
Reinvent the rhymes
The pitches of your poetry
For they shapes
The events of the future.
You’ll harvest it
All of them
The fruits of your words

Ugwu David C.
©2023

Oak Season

As clear as day I hear it
The sound of a raging storm
My thoughts unclear as the cloud
My brows knitted in bewilderment

We spoke words
And this day we waited upon
The unveiling of what came as a prompting
The head start we need

Where did we m…
Stop
A stern interruption
Like lightning it flashed before my eyes

Leafs falling from a 100 feet
Roots absorbing water from a river
Branches unmoved by the wind
A trunk as large as the Pompey pillar

As clear as day I hear it
It’s Oak season
Rejoice
It has come

Imani Dokubo
(C) 2022

A Cry For Help


Help!
I’m at my wisdom’s end
There are now fewer wisdoms found in my speeches
Words tend to rush out all messed up
Before I remember to clean them up
Making more troubles than giving solutions
Help! Father! I’m at my wisdom’s end
I’d rather your words take hold of my tongue


Help!
Gradually, I am forgetting me
How you see me
How you value me
Living a false life
Is quickly becoming my reality
I find myself lost in doubt
Forgetting you’ve placed me in certainty
Help! Father! I am forgetting me
I’d rather your thoughts about me fill my heart

Help!
I have lost my direction
I think back to be front
And when I try to move
I find out I’m still facing back
My compass isn’t as accurate as I thought it was
It’s broken
Help! Father!
I don’t know where I’m at
But I’m certain you will find me
I’d rather continue this journey with you


Help! Father!
’tis all I can mutter
I no longer have hold over the matter
Father, I know you can hear me
‘Help me!’ Is all I’ve got to say now
Yet, I feel comforted that you do understand
Even more that a thousand words could have explained.
Help! Father!
I really need you.


Pearlythoughtz
© 2022

His Glory

There is no shame that taketh a man
But such that is common to man
In nakedness without shame
For his glory surrounds you
You see not my flaws or mistakes
Not because you know you’re naked too
But because he’s made me good
In you I see glory
In me you see glory
With faults and flaws here and there
Yes in this journey we may hurt or be hurt
But it’s no shame in nakedness
Because when I see you
And you see me
Its his glory that surrounds us.


There is therefore now no shame
To those who are in Christ Jesus
Who walk not after the things they see
But after his word
Which says
Fear not, though fearful things surround you
Be thou not confounded,
Though there are things you may not understand
Be not ashamed, though you’re naked and hurt
You’ll not be put to shame, for I am your glory
Breath in earthen clay
Words into void state
Light into dark days
Your Maker and Husband I Am!

Philipa Oraegbu
© 2022

 

Words for My Father

Baami,
For the times your words enveloped my fear,
Times your voice echoed courage into my soul,
And you became strength for my arms,
When the weight of the world became too heavy for me to bear,

Nna,
You built an image our lives could reflect on,
And carved words into pointers to guide us,
As we journeyed through the world,
You denied yourself of pleasures,
So we could afford the luxury we desired;
A price you’d pay as long as you had breath in your lungs,

How can I forget the touch of your rod,
A few lashes to straighten us when we went wrong,
How can I forget lessons enriched in respect, integrity and diligence,
Lessons drawn from the scenes of your life,
Lessons we could hold in the palms of our hands,
Lessons that moulded us into the men we are today!

Abba,
I choose to count my flowers while the sun still shines upon your face and the wind gently caresses you,
When the air in your lungs still warms up your chest,
And your heart still beats,
Today, I choose to celebrate you for being nothing short of a father!
Happy Father’s day Baami.


And to those Father who has gone beyond this world,
We choose to remember you and say you live on in hearts!

Olaoye Adeleye
(C) 2022