Read of the Day is May 1970, highly commended in the Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry Competition (July 2020).
The Blast from the Past are three poems by Obiora Udechukwu taken from his book Portraits and Landscapes. Professor Udechukwu was our guest poet in October 2003.
KATHLEEN STRAFFORD
May 4, 1970
While tin soldiers armed with rifles
tear gas and bayonets
fired 67 rounds in 13 seconds
into mobs of unarmed students
wounding nine killing four
Kenny just back from Nam jumpy addicted & empty
smell of blood on his hands pushed
down our basement forced into hiding
where the dark is stored father said
they have their place but haven’t dug it yet
grandma said they weren’t to blame poor buggers
& neighbours organised vigilante meetings
READ THE FULL POEM HERE>>
OBIORA UDECHUKWU
Maru
Maru the Mad
Has gone for a walk
Our hill is now littered
With pellets of goat shit
Haiku
Bushy-tailed squirrels
Trees undressing in the yard
Farewell to summer
Trapped
Trapped in this cozy cage
Gazing at the cold wilderness
Of whiteness
We spin clouds into yarn
Weave yarns into song
Waiting for the new year
In France, the griot has gone home
In Ibadan, the towncrier is silenced.
(“Maru” “Haiku” and “Trapped” are taken from Portraits and Landscapes)