“Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness we return to books: to find words for what we already know.”
Alberto Manguel
To read
Is to live
Is to see
Beyond the covers
A world where
countless possibilities
still exists.
Poetry: Hassanah Photography: Adefolatomiwa Toye
In times of uncertainty and trouble, reading can become a soothing therapy. And as clearly put by Alberto Manguel, “Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness we return to books: to find words for what we already know.”
This poem came easy to me. Thanks to the countless quotes on bookmarks that celebrate reading in all of its beauty. Here are a few.
“Books to the ceiling, Books to the sky, my pile of books is a mile high. How I love them! How I need them! I’ll have a long beard by the time I read them.”
Arnold Lobel
Books are a uniquely portable magic.
Stephen King
And my all time favorite:
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, themore places you’ll go.”
Dykes at Eko Atlantic, Lagos (Image: Adefolatomiwa Toye)
Last year, I took part in the SprinNG writing fellowship. It seemed absurd (at least to me) to turn a relaxing hobby to an intense 6-week rollercoaster of writing and rewriting. My assigned mentor Iyanu Adebiyi didn’t make it a smooth ride with constant revisions upon revision of my poems. The most challenging writing prompt was coincidentally my first task. I had to answer the question why do I write?
Why do you write poems seems easy to answer until you realize that nothing comes to mind even after a minute of thinking. This prompt took me days to work out then I sent it to my mentor for review. Of course, it took more than 2 ‘rewritings’ until I could come up with this:
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LOOKING INTO THE MIRROR OF I
The sea calls my name on this shore tonight. I am in awe of a beauty I cannot see, do not understand, dare not embrace. There is something swaying towards me. I feel it in the waves sweeping across my feet. As I stand enveloped by the dark, I yearn to see this intriguing stranger. For a moment, the moon lights the sky, its gentle rays pour on all things below. The blanket of night disappears and I see the mystery of the glistening sea as clear as day.
Poetry is this light that shines through the murky waters of uncertainty. Poetry gives me a consciousness of what is present and what is absent; of the apparent and the hidden. Poetry is adventure; the path that ushers me out of the familiarity of my experiences and on a journey of life’s spectrum.
I write for me. To articulate this journey of many sides and realities. To open my eyes to a world I cannot fully fathom. Like an explorer sets sail, seeking unchartered lands, I search for light in the blurriness of my opaque thoughts, hoping to find it.
I write for the other. Those who stay calmly in a room covered in mirrors, trying to see their true reflections. They need not search for lucidity on the walls – it finds them. In poetry, I am confronted with how different they are from me. How fascinating it will be to lean into their worlds, not as an escape from mine, but an appreciation of how diverse our human experiences can be.
As I write, my pen draws waves of stories on my paper. Its tide washes onto shore the gift of clarity. Through poetry, I can travel from past to future. I can meet those who have passed, I can relive the present and imagine possibilities of the future. In this journey, are countless stories to be told – the ones yet untold and others being retold. And no matter how long, the pen never stops drawing new pictures of divergent perspectives.
To write, is to remove the fog of confusion from my mind. At last I can embrace the radiance of understanding. Writing is a mirror for my thoughts. There is nothing as graceful as a page full of written words, welcoming spectrums of mysteries and reflecting lights of new revelations. Here, I can truly be awakened to a new consciousness of myself, the world I live in and those I share it with.
As I continue on this path, I hope to arrive at my destination – my room of mirrors, where the reflections are not altered or obscure, but clear and bright like the moonlit water at shore.
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Other writing prompts similar to this it helped me reflect and truly extend the reach of my writing style. It was as exciting as it was demanding and I am glad I followed through.
Of all the open spaces I have been, none has been more ingrained in my memory like the musallah (Muslim prayer area) at my student hostel as a final year architecture student. Queen Amina Hall was definitely not the most beautiful female hostel in the University of Lagos and I initially disliked the boring structures and old walls. But the open spaces with well maintained vegetation right from the entrance to the courtyards gave me mixed feelings about this place. This was a clear contrast to the built structure that bounded them.
For the one year I called this hall home, I loved praying, resting and thinking in this simple yet beautiful prayer area. It was an elevated concrete slab used for public gathering especially the 5 Muslim daily prayers. Waking up in the morning just after dawn, staring into the quiet empty blue sky gave me a sense of serenity I haven’t experienced since them. This poem, despite it being short, perfectly encapsulates how I felt and still feel about this space. Enjoy!
As light seeps in
against the dawn
The crickets and aves
and humans alike
soon will rise
With their voices
tearing away
the stillness and quiet
to welcome a new song
A new day
-hassanah
POETRY: Hassanah PHOTOGRAPHY: Adefolatomiwa Toye
The design and construction of places of worship have usually been elaborate and intricate. Personally, I think they give a different appeal unlike the small and simple spaces like that of my former student hall.
The poem…leads to the awakening of better days to come.
This poem was written in 2017 at a time the world seemed to be in total chaos. News of conflicts and killings by fellow humans and those in authority rang on tv screens almost everyday. It is disappointing although not unsurprising that the same rings true today.
The poem(yet to be titled) starts off from a position of doubt which I still strongly feel and leads to the awakening hope in better days to come.
The recent events Of terror and deaths engulf me in fear As I see the world slowly sinking into a quagmire And I begin to question my faith in humanity
We pride ourselves as the greatest species With intellect and tact our world we’ve rendered so beautiful but gloomier than ever
Hate for the other now so enraging How foreign have become the words-love, unity
Senseless wars and conflicts for the lust of power and oil Leaving the innocent and weak vulnerable like never before
Although dark and depressing I choose to assert my belief in humanity and the goodness left within In love and the potency of its results
We can rekindle the flame of hope and open our hearts not to hate but love To save our world from drifting into an abyss of chaos and doom caused by our own hands destroyed,ruined
On a lighter note, the photograph is a chocolate cake mix in a stainless steel bowl. I thought it a perfect muse for this poem and a little photo editing did the trick. What do you think?
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No matter how long the night morning always comes No matter how stormy the clouds the skies always clear No matter the hardship there is always ease
hassanah
I never imagined that I’ll ever experience a global pandemic in my lifetime. It just seemed like what you read in history books.
Well its what it is, and definitely real. It still feels so surreal as the normalcy of everyday life has become disrupted in so short an instance.
Social distancing, staying indoors might suck but its our best bet in moving on from this crucial moment of our history. Improved hygiene and proper hand washing will also go a long way in protecting us from getting infected.
Photograph: Adefolatomiwa Toye Poetry: Hassanah
Through out time, plagues have ‘plagued’ the human race, and just as the pandemics of the past have come and gone, this too will pass.
I am always grateful to all the healthcare workers who are at the front lines combating this disease all across the world. They are our real heroes.
The picture below fully caps my admiration for every single one of you. You all give us hope.
Photo with a Poem was present at the ‘Arcreate’ exhibition which held recently on 26 February, 2020 at the Department of Architecture, University of Lagos. It was a wonderful and inspiring experience.
GALLERY
One of our recent poems ‘Pilot’ made it to the exhibition with another stunning photograph.
In the bland and ordinary The simple the boring You’ll find riveting stories Those unheard nor told Because sometimes our best times are hidden in plain sight
Photo with a Poem 