I Knew Deep Down

By Faru K. Gudina

“The content ranges through joyful, light-hearted paeans to Creation, loving tributes to her female mentors, intense calls to action in the face of evil, internal struggles and reflections, and defenses/affirmations of her strong faith in Christ.”

David Mennicke, A. Mus. D.
Professor of Music/Director of Choral Studies/Chapel Cantor,
Concordia University, St. Paul

~ ~ ~

I saw Him in times of loneliness
right there beside me, amidst darkness,
comforting me with His gentle words—
words of truth I read in the Bible,
which held me up and sustained me.
I know this for sure, not by ignorance
but because of little thing called faith.”


Faru K. Gudina has a deep faith in God that was handed down to her from two generations of believers.

In a debut collection of poems, she addresses a variety of topics that include nature, social justice, and her unique coming-of-age journey from girlhood to adolescence and beyond. Within her diverse verse, she lyrically explores butterflies and bees, kisses, sparkling and glittery stars, evil spirits, a merciless past, the night Christ was born, better tomorrows, and much more.

I Knew Deep Down is a volume of moving poetry that shares insight into an Ethiopian girl’s coming-of-age journey as she reflects on her life, her faith, and the world around her.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9781664293298

Faru K. Gudina

Faru K. Gudina began writing poetry at age eight. She is currently a student attending Biola University in Southern California, and is the granddaughter of Ethiopian evangelical ministers and martyrs; Gudina Tumsa and Tsehay Tolosa. I Knew Deep Down is her first volume of poems.

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Copyright © 2023 Faru K. Gudina.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-9328-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-9330-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-9329-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023903119

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/26/2023

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Bumblebees

Butterflies

Kiss

Daydreaming

Stars Playing

Wonderful Sun

In My Grandma’s Arms

Raindrops

Is It Me or the Moon?

Tiger Sunset

Just a Wish

Adade and Lelo: Two Sides of a Coin

Whom to Talk To

The Moon

That Monster

Just Like You, Wedu

Next

A Star

A Step

The Streets of Addis

A Seed

Age

Evil Spirit

Superhero

Forgive and Forget

I Look for You

God-Given Identity

Merciless Past

Rape

O Lord, Rescue Me

Think and Consider

Friends

Yogurt-Inn in Addis

A Tribute to Mami

No More … but More

A Mystified Teenager

My Refuge

Anger

I Knew Deep Down

A Little Thing Called Faith

Part and Parcel of History

Madam Psychotherapist

That One Night

Reason To Hate?

Seasons

Suicide

Sidestep or Charge?

Let Our Children Go

An Urge to Retaliate

Fear

Too Soon, Too Late

Airport Madness

Bring Back Freedom

Those Hands

Aspirations

You Are There with Me

Stop

Sellout

There Is Still Hope

Content

Slumbering Nations

Dedicated to My People

Da Dum

Feelings of Emptiness

Interrogating the Bible

Who Am I?

You Love Me Anyway

Just for You, My People

Judging from Afar

Commands or Compromise

Father of Heavenly Lights

Creation or the Creator?

Enthusiasm

Halt, Halt, Halt!

A Double Face

Saints

The Invincible Me

Creation Nonsense

Tears, Regrets, and Remedies

Walking on Turbulent Waters

The Writing on the Wall

A Divine Kiss

Visible Love

Beautifying Worship

The Dancing King

Mercy and Hope

Despotes

Asking for a Sign

Find Me

My Hidden Sin

Congratulations

Concealed in His Quiver

Abba

Handpicked

God’s Friend

Sennachrib

Inertia

Call Me by Name

Prince of Peace

Eternal Victor

Foreword

My tongue is like the pen of a skillful poet.

Psalm 45:1

I Knew Deep Down is a book of poems written by one of my daughters, Faru K. Gudina. When Faru was in the third grade, a teacher, Mrs. Kidane, saw her potential and called us in for a parent-teacher conference. Her aunt—whom Faru calls Adade—and I went and listened to Faru’s first poem, entitled Day Dreaming, which had only four lines. Faru’s aunt and I left the classroom confused, not understanding what the teacher saw in those four lines. We come from a literary culture where poems tell a long story. We could not grasp what the teacher saw in that short poem and left the matter at that.

Faru continued writing and shared the poems from time to time during our family evenings. Her aunt, unlike me, faithfully collected and saved all the poems; little did she know that one day they would be compiled and published as this poetry book.

The poems are reflections of the depth of Faru’s thoughts, the sharpness of her observation skills, and the eloquence of her language, which became increasingly pronounced as she grew older. Her ability began to catch the attention of others; at the age of ten, she was selected by her school principal to recite one of her poems to the gathering of female African leaders at the African Union. When Faru read the line If women are trusted to lead homes, why not countries? it sent the audience into roaring applause.

As a family, we grew to love and admire the development of her thought. We always marveled at how she condensed and expressed big, deep ideas using only a few words. Her love for nature, expressed in her childhood poems and paintings, compelled us to think about creation and the