SOULFLAME MAGAZINE

OTHER SIDE OF POLITICS Mum was a farmer And dad had signed a petition, A death warrant to die for the nation. I'm a political scientist- I remember mom's words when dad played the down game. If only I had heard him I would've told him to his face His father was a fool, Had he not died  A year to his life would make him the greatest of fools. Her husband was a wizard Butchered at the village square. Her mother was a Necromancer She had a nail thrust into her head. I equally heard them say my dad was a Nero Dancing till the city was razed down(Read more here: history.com ) They said he was full of lies That he can lie for the nation. That he forcefully seized his land from him: A thing he never would've done had it meant his dad was alive. That he is biblical Laban in nature, He doesn't pay the debt. How can he ever lead the youth? And then I began to kill their words, Burying them with my five fingers. Politics is a game of survival, The true elimination chamber. Eve...

  BEHOLD MY DAUGHTER Mother night is that night When the moon is fully ripe  And down it goes, falling from the weak branch Rolling down the cliff To the skull of a victim whose life the mighty had taken, Wishing she had lived again Thinking of that day when she dated the night Going against the rules. When the sons of perdition bid her adieu Having harvested her daffodil.  Toasting her to the fullest. Drawing every sugar from her and leaving her in her own pool of blood, Wearing her natural costume. Mother night is that night When the executioner thrusted the axe Into the pound of flesh Engulfing the circulation of the ocean of blood Springing the soul of mother's loving son, Who was of a Buccaneer. He paid dearly with his blood, Having bit-hacked a damsel who refused to be his date. She was as well her mother's loving daughter. Never shall it be well, the damsel's mother said: He shall die same way. And the loving son's mother said: Same way shall he die. So goes the...

  NEVER GO SO SLOW There is no comfort in Rope So let me find it in Nail Never go so slow sincere executioner! But speedily. So I sleep so soon and not in pain. Tell me, oh Learned Man! Do I have the right to tell how it should go? If this you must grant me and again none, Then I shall die smiling, for even in my adversary, so much love prevails. Oh! How much they are who wait to hear me speak in the dark But I disappointed them, I never spoke dark speech even in the dark And today, here I stand in the light to suffer for the truth. I’m in for it! Only let me tell you how it should be. So speedily without pain, not with a rope but a Nail from Kalashnikov. CONTENT/POETIC ANALYSIS I just want to remind us today that we don’t own this world, so we shouldn't carry it on our heads. We are only a player: "All the world's a stage, and all men and women merely players" — William Shakespeare's(As You Like It). I won’t really spend much time analyzing the poetic ingredients...

  ADULTERERS T helma, you have been a Nightingale with paws. H ow have you been able to purchase your customer's heart? I ndiscrimination has worn you, S neak has been your strategy W hat have you done, oh fair Thelma?. O ver your head raised burden, R olled over and over again, L ifted up and down. D avid ignores Beersheba's nakedness this time. I t's enough-why to let him have Thelma all alone. S o far as he bid, and paid much more. A llow him to end his joy W eeks hath him to live, he smells sepulcher O racle said so E ngulf him so he lives to love eternity. D o you give ear to the afterlife? O r do you think there is love in thirst? N either are you the first nor the last, right? T helma, your way is cunning in sight. L et's talk things out; have you ever seen the rich merry in serene? O r the poor, the vision of food? V erily unto you I say, dream merry are for the unable E very dream delicacy hath been tasted by Barons I nasmuch as he wasn't satisfied, T h...

  WHEN ELDERS TALK I was 18 years old, while he was already 80. My grandpa was a very lovely and caring man. An octogenarian, you wouldn't want to go a day without wanting to sit at his feet just to hear him talk about life.  Right from my childhood days, I had always wanted to be with him, if not for other things. For the folk tales that always left us thinking as we mirrored the past, and wished we were there, and sometimes wished we weren't. Baba Yion(John), as he was called, was a very tall man. In fact, he was the tallest man in the whole community, and he had a fearful appearance(Nephilim in nature), but he never abused his mysterious size, as some today will capitalize on that to intimidate others. There are things I would do, and he would just look at me and smile. Sometimes, this could be those things he was supposed to have gotten mad at me. But as I progressed in life, I started asking myself some questions. "Is this lifestyle synonymous with elderly people?...

  SELFLESS   Like a Mosaic in the ceiling of a Roman dome So beautiful, eye-catching, Such is success! I will again never compare its worth to failure’s. It’s so expensive that every step counts. And the most dangerous aspect of it is when it comes unaware. If thus it comes, you go from grass to grace And so like a thartch in haste burns What a burden on hen’s back weighs ton that must soon its glory once! And men shall feel so much the weight of failure than success And it shall to you the beast of burden liken unto a nightmare. If it meets you prepared, it gives you its principles: Groom me, hug me, touch me, caress me. Mind you! You need not miss any. And if you do, the enemy that’s a friend alike It tells you how success is inhumane  How it can’t stay on its own How it needs to be soft-touched. All these are to the best of my knowledge, true. But this enemy wants you to see where you are robbed And robs you too. It’s masterminding your fall. “Kill the self in you, and...

X CHARACTER   I would love to marry you! But you would never part my source and hatch a chick,  You would never love my Dad and give a new name, And you would never love my pals and bark at them. "You dare not in my ear your beauty reverberate". Like a frustrated prostitute, You need not appear so innocent. I would love to marry you! But you would never love your church and join my coven, You would never hear my story and keep your peace  And you would never dance my beat and miss your step. "A brothel is a motel!"  Only that it camouflages like a hotel. "A bad character is like a hostel" So I would in me make you my fair Juliet, And in reality, be to you no Romeo. CONTENT ANALYSIS   The poem X Character is a literary piece that brings to light the negative effects or consequences of exhibiting a bad character as a young lady who’s supposed to have a promising future in all facets of life. The X in the poem’s title, X Character, symbolizes bad. That’s to s...

 THE SOURCE What a free man the soul is! No resume, Curriculum vitae,  No pay,  ... doesn't resume,  No closing, and no retirement from service.  What a chain a man is bound!  No freedom,  No rest,  ...on fate,  No kingdom To agree, to do, that's his bond.  From where comes a man's unnegotiated freedom?  To some-  From God,  From god's.  To some-  ...work, endless efforts put into his farm.  I know not much, but a little.  A minute A bit. The bit The minute Is the much I know, not little  Frankly, sincerely, to me, it's Almighty God  The father Our Lord The paver The Omni-every and all-knowing God. SUBJECT MATTER/SUMMARY/CONTENT ANALYSIS   E. L. Teddy’s poem "The Source" traces back to the origin of man, pointing to his sovereignty in the original plans of God for man as a fellow created in God’s image and likeness. The motivation to write this piece emanated from the poet’s perception of...

 7 Important Things Every Beginner Poet Should Know Have you fallen in love with poetry already, but you are still asking yourself: how do these guys go about writing such a wonderful, and captivating piece? And you really want to know the poetic magic: how it's done. Don't worry, we've penned down 7 important things you should know as a beginner poet, which, if practiced, will make you a professional poet who not only writes on paper, but also in the tablet of men's hearts.  1. Read Widely and Consistently A poet becomes stronger through exposure to different voices(that is, reading works of different poets). A professional is not the one who learns and never puts to practice, but the one who utilizes the available resources to stand out in the midst of millions of people doing the same thing. How do you do this? It could only be done by reading people. Reading poetry: both classical and contemporary, helps you understand how language, rhythm, and imagery work in pract...

With 65 DAYS In one of Myles Munroe’s speeches, he drew a conclusion to what seems to be a thought-provoking quote: “ If you were born poor, you are not the cause; but if you die poor, you are the cause.” Anyone who thinks outside the box should be saddled with lots of meaningful, boiling, and yet unanswered questions like: What if no one had trained me at the university? What if I were born with a silver spoon like others, and then I was a third-class citizen? What if I never had money to buy books? What if no one was willing to pay for my apprenticeship, and I had no funds to pay for it? And then, what if God had not that I should be rich? Yes, anyone in their right senses should have all those questions to sit upon, and it should constitute their basis of ascertainment, to defend their weak, undiscovered, and unacceptable drive to propel their given potential and purpose in life. Again, the response to the above question is presented to us in such a bulky way that we would have to p...