SPRINGTIME MEMOIRS
” Shortly before noon’s dusk, December 7th 2012 A.D,
I sat on a wooden bench at the bank of the Niger,
glancing at the sun set below horizon and
reminisced on several odysseys of yesteryears;
I reminisced on days when our bodies were
left bare to be extolled by the nakedness of nature,
a feeling even fresher than the finest of wines;
days when we explored dunghills, searching for
the primordia of our pedigree, when houseflies
threw parties on our nostrils and we sucked it’s(mucus) nectar,
days when whips from cables exorcised adamantine from our
spirits and slaps were supernatural elixirs that cured
maladies in our frames. “
Angry youth fighting for dignity. Prostitutes whose beauty and harsh lives equal those of tragic heroins. Landscapes of breath-taking beauty. Such is the world in Daniel Ezeokeke’s poetry, an ode to words and beauty facing danger and violence.
This young poet comes from Anambra State in Igboland, Nigeria. His convoluted sentences give the setting a particular intensity, sublimating the dull reality of everyday life. Ezeokeke sees poetry as a means of “means of escapism from society undergoing decay and degradation”. His elegant, refined language has a distinct visual power that reminds the reader of the poetry of Chinua Achebe, a source of inspiration for Ezeokeke.
Aware of the realities of his country, criticizing social misery and political lack of morality and action, this talented poet encourages his readers to become lovers of beauty and justice in order to transform this society into a better world.
Find out more about his poems and work at https://danielezeokeke.blogspot.com/
Poems by Daniel Ezeokeke
Review by Ioana Danaila
Ioana Danaila was born in Romania. She has a PhD in Nigerian Postcolonial Literature and a First degree in French for Non-Francophone people. She is also the author of a collection of short stories and translated books from French to Romanian. Trilingual in Romanian, French and English, she teaches English language and literature to highschool students in France.