Who Extinguished the Fire?: And Other Poems

By James Turyatemba

Who Extinguished the Fire And Other Poems is an up-to-date collection of Turyatemba’s verse. The new collection comprises fourteen groupings of poems on a variety of subjects.

"The poet has penned poetry of the commonplace—retained the ordinary, local flavours
that could be lost when trying to get sophisticated. Turyatemba defies the myth that
poetry is complicated and cannot be understood. We can easily recognize both our private and
public systems in this collection.” Dr. Mildred K. Barya.


“In crafting his poems, Turyatemba makes idiom his mainstay and in so doing he breathes life into the most common sayings. His poems work like riddles throwing perplexing questions at the reader. He truly is in deep conversation with his audience. His wide exploration of the African condition makes an important contribution to both our literary and philosophical thinking.” - Dr. Susan Kiguli.

“Coming from a literary student of Economics, these poems are very rich in one of the essential features of poetry – economy. Also rich in figurative or picture language, most of the poems are witty depictions of the nice and nasty contradictions in the physical environment as well as in the personal, cultural, social and political contexts explored by the poet.” - Professor Timothy Wangusa.


Cover design by Grace Bithum and Robert Bigirwenkya.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664152045

James Turyatemba

Born in Kabale District in 1963, James Turyatemba has since 1991 worked in the Directorate of Examinations Management of Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB). Previously, he taught in a number of Secondary Schools in Uganda. He graduated from Makerere University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education (Economics) in 1987 and a Master’s degree in Education in 1991. He obtained a diploma and a Master’s degree in Higher Education Leadership and Management at Uganda Management Institute in 2014 and 2016 respectively. He has been a fervent advocate for “a better environment for all, through sustainable development”. He is a member of the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication (CEC). He has attended several Environment Education courses and workshops in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Swaziland, Ethiopia, Botswana, Nigeria, South Africa, Jordan and The Netherlands. He is the Author of Ballads of Victors and Victims.

Book preview

WHO

EXTINGUISHED

THE FIRE?

AND OTHER POEMS

JAMES TURYATEMBA

Copyright © 2021 by JAMES TURYATEMBA.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-6641-5205-2

                eBook           978-1-6641-5204-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 01/21/2021

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

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CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgements

PART I

POEMS OF ADMONITION

In the Eye of a Storm

Pseudo Heroes

Who Extinguished the Fire?

The Attentive Bride

Sunshine at Dawn

The Honour

The Elders’ Voice

Wiping the Tears

The Mangoes are not Ripe

PART II

POEMS OF REFLECTION

Nerveless Ash

What A World!

Do You?

Am I Human?

Life!

The More Things Change!

Who Is God?

Just Questions

Silence!

Being Human

The Price

PART III POEMS OF DEJECTION

The Man I Married

The Mighty Tower

A Drop of Water

You Never Did!

The Old Ape

Corruption

Across The Line

AIDS and Custom

Promises!

Fortified Monuments

The Cruel Arm

PART IV

WAKE UP AFRICA POEMS

Wake up Africa!

The African Curse!

The Genocide

Straying Into The Lion’s Den

I Wish

No Chai

If

The Law

Wake Up Woman!

U.P.E.

Crossing the Rubicon

Homecoming

PART V

POEMS ON ENVIRONMENT

The Mystic Equation

Golden Rubbish

What Crime?

The Palm Tree

The Katabushera* Hills

Nature’s Speck

The Slum

Ever Imagined?

To An Abused Landscape

PART VI

POEMS OF TRANSGRESSION

We Saw Him Err

When My Door Is Locked

Kissing the Machete

Mob Justice

If Birds Can Thrive

The Punching Bag

The Luweero Triangle

The Trivial Mission

Hounds in the Woods

Fuelling the Feud

PART VII

POEMS OF VALOUR

Dissenting Voices

Oh Mandela!

A Reactionary’s Creed

Stand and Gaze?

Mwalimu Nyerere

PART VIII

POEMS OF NOSTALGIA

The Adventurous Toddler

Childhood Memories

True Vengeance

The Shamba Boy

Festival of Freedom

PART IX

POEMS OF ADORATION

Come Home, My Love

The Woman I Married

Lean On Me

Was I Strong?

PART X

POEMS OF ANTICIPATION

The Promised Land

Across The Plain

Shall I Ever Live?

The Longing

Beyond Forty

PART XI

POEMS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Take Heart!

Why Worry?

PART XII

POEMS OF REMORSE

The Historic Raid

The Prodigal Child

PART XIII

POEMS OF BEREAVEMENT

Miss Her Less?

Death at the Pulpit

Shaking the Mountain

PART XIV

POEMS OF FAREWELL

Was I?

Writers

Don’t Cry For Me

When We Live And Leave

Dedication