Daggers In My Soul

By Benjamin Afolabi

From the Author: "The thoughts portrayed in these poems rose from the dust of my father's kingdom while I was busy reaching for the sky as a boy in my home town in West Africa, and they grew tall with me into adulthood. The landmarks of my experiences over the years till after my Western Education are summed up in loaded words that I have only ever disclosed to myself in moments of soul searching. I have grasped this golden opportunity to share them all here with you fellow beings before they disappear for ever with me into my lonely grave."

The poems in this collection are all mostly based on the author's hopes, aspirations and world-view as forged, shaped and nurtured by the local environment in which he lived and thrived as a boy till adulthood. Most of his experiences are summed up and laid bare in the poems as only he could have put them into words.

These poems of creation, love, hope, dreams and decay all come together to give us a glimpse into the thoughts that rage in the mind of a young man as he struggled to understand the world around him and his own place in the scheme of things.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Benjamin Afolabi
• Release date: Mar 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393885740

Book preview

Dedication

I dedicate this work to the spirit of my fore fathers, in particular Chief John Adepoju Afolabi, who danced briefly and joined his ancestors far too soon.

Introduction

The thoughts portrayed in these poems rose from the dust of my father’s kingdom while I was busy reaching for the sky as a boy in my home town in West Africa, and they grew tall with me into adulthood. The landmarks of my experiences over the years till after my Western Education are summed up in loaded words that I have only ever disclosed to myself in moments of soul searching. I have grasped this golden opportunity to share them all here with you fellow beings before they disappear for ever with me into my lonely grave.

PART 1

BIRTH, CREATION

At Dawn

At dawn,

There was a soft compelling command

That rattled the coupling elements

And behold, a streak of grey

Broke the stifling night's back.

In the early hours,

A forceful force dived menacingly

And behold, the elements shifted

And climbed out of nothingness.

The sea on wobbly legs

Staggered groaning away,

Baring young earth's brown gums

To the powered sweep of the unruly wind.

The sun prancing like a youthful gazelle

Danced across the new sky

Sprinkled with suckling stars,

The beings awed, tried their legs unwise

Climbing heights, trampling greens,

Suckling hungrily on their creator's goodwill.

A Struggle In The Dark

I've always employed myself at youth

In pondering about life in its various moods,

But my young brain then was left guessing.

I've tried to strip the riddle

That clothes life now I'm older,

But my older brain seems too old and less agile.

I've cried in anguish to my wise dreams for help,

But sly dreams now seem to dodge my sleep day and night.

I've taken my passion to neighbours old and young,

But they in turn seem to be lost in the maze of life.

I've heard the wind