There is something about poetry that awakens me and reminds me of the things buried deep within me, the joy, the laughter and the love that only words can voice sometimes. And there I was listening to the poems of my dear friend Namuddu, she holds the accolades of being my mum, after all she has my mother’s name.
This lounge was dear to my heart, mostly because over time, when I look back on the works of the Lantern meet of poets, the “Bittersweet: Love is forever “ recital still awakens me to emotions buried and alive in me and in that recital Ann’s work was the highlight of the night.
So I went, without a doubt excited to hear her voice on the issues that trouble our hearts. At least my heart is painted in her poem “Raindrops”. Ann said, “when she was not heard by one person, she wrote for a thousand to hear.” But maybe what I would want to say to her about her poetry is that, it is the mirror of a lot faces, as complex as love is or as complex as we make love out to be, we find ourselves in the words that show up in her poetry. I will speak for myself, I have seen myself lose my innocence and I could tell the difference it had from my ignorance. I have loved and found a shadow on the other side, I have had oceans of love to give, I have grown numb many a times from the hurt, I have cried my heart out and I have loved yet again, sometimes I would be the only one participating. Yet the anthem still rings, don’t give up on love.I have smiled through heartache and yet here we are...long after love failed us, or we failed love whichever way the universe will sway the person on the receiving end of the poem.
Where I find the liberation is in the power of the pen, you get this strong emotion, subject, muse and put it out in words, and give it a face and make it come to life, that is powerful, that is a place of strong standing and that is a place I want to hold Ann at, That even when words flow from the spaces that we are in, the true power is in realizing that in giving these words a face, we tell the story of many people, in a few lines.
On finding Selah, I wish I had told Ann that a pause or a stop has never been a bad thing, if there is rebirth after it. She spoke of closure, I saw new beginnings. When we write, we give birth to new thought, new ideas and to new purpose. And even though we enjoy Ann’s poetry on love and everything in between. Knowing the little I know about Ann, I cannot wait to read the storm of knowledge that is going to come out of her essays. I have seen the power of her pen and that above everything puts me in reckless hope of what she will birth out of her many thoughts on Feminism, social justice, mental health and other subjects there of.
The Namuddu lounge was a Phoenix rising moment and I was glad to be a part of it. It was much closure and it was rebirth. I don’t know where her thoughts are at but I am sure they are holding up a holy fire of new work to be devoured.
Keep on Keeping on my Namuddu
