Ode to Dancing Pen: A Review

 

Howdy! I hope you are keeping safe? 

Today, I will take a look into Brenda Eziafakaego Nwafor's  debut: Ode to a Dancing Pen.

The title gives a succinct description of what a pen does when in motion; it writes. And when it writes, it is non-stop. Perhaps, this accounts for the absence of full stop through out the fifty-two poems in this book and it is also a movement from one topic to the other.

Life is a journey and so is the opening poem, Beginnings and Endings hinting on the fact that  the completion of one task open one to another like a never ending cycle:

                                        A beginning with new hopes and

                                        Aspirations

                                        Which with time

                                        Will diffuse into another end

                                        My life

                                        A cycle of endings and beginnings

Love is explored in various dimensions, from the love a woman has for her children that will prevent her from leaving an abusive marriage, to a woman in search of love, not minding being the pawn in the hands of a Serial Date ( player); to a Housewife's Rant enduring the dalliance of her husband with several women. Nonetheless, she is  not a weakling after all. Because, after sowing his wild oats, the husband comes home and:

                                       

                                        Remember you whimper like Nkita

                                        When I refuse to sleep well

                                        I am the one you call that woman

                                        Or when you wish,wife

                                        Iwo,

                                        You will meet me at home

It also foregrounds the power a woman wields on a man.  She knows how to deal with her man in her own unique way. The poet invites us to see the pain a woman endures, struggling to make ends meet by taking care of the home without the support of the husband till she drops dead in the process.The following lines brings this to the fore:

                                                  

                                                    Her veins turn weak

                                                    From toiling

                                                    Until she knocks

                                                    On death's doors.

There is an indirect and sometimes direct sarcastic swipe at political leaders for their role in the crawling condition of a country (Nigeria) that is going beyond fifty-two years. Also, the present top man to whom a lot of confidence  is reposed but unfortunately, very little has been achieved.

Various forms and styles are adopted in this collection. From the traditional forms to the modern forms. To a large extent, we find copious use of catchy imageries which helps to project the theme(s) of each poem.

The poem ends on a positive note or perhaps an ambivalent one at that. The land may be parched, void and scorched but nonetheless, the poet persona still desires to bathe in This River even if by tomorrow it is no more.The book cover is sleek and the font used is reader friendly. For me, this collection of poems have achieved what it set out to do, which is first, to give an authorial voice to a newly emerging poet and secondly,  to carve a niche for herself in the vast, endless world of creativity. Therefore, it is not out of place to grab a copy and savour the richness inherent in Ode to a Dancing Pen.

Till we meet again,

I am Yours truly,

Julius Topohozin.