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    Letter to My Unborn: Poetry Book
    Letter to My Unborn: Poetry Book
    Letter to My Unborn: Poetry Book
    Ebook191 pages1 hour

    Letter to My Unborn: Poetry Book

    By Ngozi Olivia Osuoha

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Legacy poems

    This book represents a legacy in poems - moral, ethical and practical education in verses.

    In Robin Wyatt Dunn's words:

    Osuoha's language reads like a stilted nursery rhyme, doubly insisting both on the rights of the white settler to determine the destiny of her community (the book is dedicated to God and is scattered throughout with various Christian homilies), yet its deeper intention is profoundly anti-colonial, and a sharp critic of the state:


    Osuoha observes:

    The world violates covenants
    And desecrates every altar
    Yet they all are communicants
    And none is a defaulter
    Here, everything is fake
    And anyhow, they fail brake
    Drop not your guard.


    These poems are a mix of compassion and angst, a homely mother reciting her rhymes who is concealing her deep mistrust and rage at the history which has raped her language and culture, insisted on its rights to do so, and continues to oppress her country and environment.

    But, as she observes, it is not ultimately the white settler who is to blame, but the world: we are all implicated in this suffering and desecration.

    ***

    Each poem in beautiful rhyme representing a letter addressed to her unborn child and safely placed in a file from a caring and protective mother is a skillfully crafted piece of work by the Nigerian poet Ngozi Olivia Osuoha. The poems act as codes of conduct for childhood, adolescence and adulthood and can be collectively taken as a guide for facing the ups and downs of life. Original, captivating, heart touching and soul stirring Letter to My Unborn will certainly leave imprints of permanent ink in the readers' mind long after it has been read. This is truly a poetry collection of all-time, a shining star on each book lover's shelf.

    – Vatsala Radhakeesoon
    author of Depth of the River

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherScarlet Leaf Publishing House
    Release dateJan 15, 2022
    ISBN9798201644253
    Letter to My Unborn: Poetry Book

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      Book preview

      Letter to My Unborn - Ngozi Olivia Osuoha

      DEDICATION

      To God, for the wonderful inspiration.

      ACKNOWLEGDEMENT

      ––––––––

      Indeed, I am deeply grateful to my family and friends. They have played and are still playing amazing roles in my life. It is my prayer that the most merciful father will honourably reward you all. I can never thank you enough.

      LETTER TO MY UNBORN

      FILE 1

      A stitch in time saves nine

      So I send you this file,

      I am not drawing a line

      But a bridge to cross the Nile,

      Do not misunderstand me

      Whether you are she or he,

      Heed, my unborn.

      FILE 2

      The world is messed up

      And nothing is at rest,

      Ask God for a new cup

      So you will not fail the test

      Make sure you are ready

      Otherwise you turn a comedy,

      Heed, my unborn.

      FILE 3

      Arrive with tears of joy

      And do not kill your mother,

      Find no happiness in toy

      Always listen to your father,

      His cane is for good

      Not only his food

      Heed, my unborn.

      FILE 4

      If we pay your fees

      Please go to school

      If we sting like bees

      Please do not be a fool,

      Whatever we can or not afford

      It does not end the world,

      Heed, my unborn.

      FILE 5

      Learn from your teacher

      Never you hate him

      Though he lives in a batcher

      Sing him a hymn,

      He is full of knowledge

      And his wisdom; a college,

      HEED, my unborn.

      FILE 6

      At school, you will meet people

      Tall, short, poor and rich

      Even giants and the cripple

      There is also an invisible ditch

      Disciplined, you escape the mines

      Wayward, you get drunk with wines,

      Heed, my unborn.

      FILE 7

      If you have siblings, rejoice

      Otherwise you taste hell

      Though they will not pay your price

      But they can pull you out, the well

      So prepare before coming

      Life is not storytelling,

      Heed, my unborn.

      FILE 8

      If you are poor, expect mockery

      I warn you before time,

      If you are rich, embrace bravery

      That is not a crime,

      Otherwise you are finished

      And none can get you polished,

      Heed, my unborn.

      FILE 9

      Make friends, rich and poor

      Even the mad on the street,

      Do not shut your door

      Underestimate nobody you meet,

      An angel can disguise himself

      And a saviour may have no shelf,

      Heed, my unborn.

      FILE 10

      Your kinsmen are your strength

      Relate with them always

      They can guide you, the length

      Though you know not their ways

      Be wise, humble and vigilant

      Never, you be arrogant,

      Heed, my unborn.

      FILE 11

      Here, brothers live in disarray

      Over little or no issue

      They even shut their ray

      And vow always to pursue,

      Be careful with everyone

      If it happens, they are not one,

      Heed, my unborn.

      FILE 12

      Help the people you can

      Whether in cash or in kind

      That makes you a man

      For support is mankind,

      Do not be greedy

      And listen to the needy,

      Heed, my unborn.

      FILE 13

      My dear, never break a heart

      Do not with any, elope

      Love and lust have a start

      They too can cut as a rope,

      Do not sleep around

      That way, gold is never found,

      Heed, my unborn.

      FILE 14

      If you are cleaner than Mary

      They will give you trouble

      If you cry out the rosary,

      The more they make you stumble,

      If you are another Jesus

      Woe unto you in Ephesus,

      Life is a tug-of –war.

      FILE 15

      If you get a white-collar job

      Life has only just begun

      It can become an angry mob

      And pronounce you the Satan,

      Work with and for your head

      Do not work only for bread,

      Heed, my unborn.

      FILE 16

      Here, the guilty cruises in freedom

      Whereas the innocent rots in jail,

      The talented dies before stardom

      And the destined, the one to wail

      Hatred abolishes your goodness

      And poverty increases your bitterness,

      Life is a tug-of-war.

      FILE 17

      They always hide the truth

      So let it not be a surprise

      When you mourn like Ruth

      Remember there is always a rise,

      The stone rejected today

      May become the bridge someday,

      Be not in a haste.

      FILE 18

      Speak not only with your mouth

      Talk with all your senses

      If you travel from the south

      Learn to repeat your sentences

      So that you do not get lost

      Even at a tremendous cost,

      Heed, my unborn.

      FILE 19

      Suppress not the young

      For life is a player

      Do them no wrong

      Because life is a betrayer,

      If you are rich, do not boast

      If you are superior, do not toast,

      Life is a tug-of-war.

      FILE 20

      Riches crash like a plane

      Penury disappears like the rainbow,

      Then one can go insane

      And even become a shadow

      Make strong your foundation

      That would earn commendation

      Heed, my unborn.

      FILE 21

      I have neither known you

      Nor met your father

      And they have lied against you

      That is not your matter,

      I write you for formality

      It was proper insanity,

      Life is a tug-of-war.

      FILE 22

      If I had been in paradise

      I may not have written this

      At sunset or sunrise

      Be mindful of every kiss,

      Judas is everywhere

      And you are somewhere,

      Be not in a haste.

      FILE 23

      If you encounter God

      Do not be a coward

      If they bring their rod

      Choose the best way forward,

      Whatever keeps you safe

      As far as it is not the knife,

      Life is a tug-of-war.

      FILE 24

      If you become the introvert

      Make sure not my type

      If you choose extrovert

      Do not break the pipe

      Return not at the wee

      Be sure, from evil flee

      Heed, my unborn.

      FILE 25

      When they gather and discuss

      Listen, learn, do

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