THE SOUND OF SILENCE
A BOOK OF OPERA POETRY
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RESPONSIBILITY (Tribute to my noble one, best friend,Ngozi) It's not that you ceased to thrill my heart as before Nor that your charm diminished in any way My unwillingness to stay is against my own will I really want to be with you To spend many a moment of unuttered communication As we've often done in the past But my head revolted against this And took the lead over my heart The man in me stood up to the challenge of integrity For it's time to face the responsibility which i owe a responsible woman To undo these burdens overtasking the usefulness of a utility wife I cannot fully express my gratitude to you No, not for the commitment you've shown Nor for the one i see in your eyes But it"s no surprise to me For you are only being true to your colour For before you said "i do" You knew the many mistakes of my youth And a few shortcomings afterwards did not challenge your faithfulness I will go away this month, and the next, and the following one And if it takes more time than i propose I know you will wait for me For i go to explore my fortune And to fight the battle of fate A common destiny for all manhood But i am all too eager to return back to you When i shall be ready to take up the duties ordained for a husband If the head of every woman is the man The heart of every man will be the woman Then i shall be ready to offer the support and the direction Which the heart requires from the head And i will have nothing against myself When you spread those familiar arms again To welcome the one you've chosen to love and to cherish Till death do us part If at all it can! SUNRISE AT DAWN On the horizon beautiful colours appear Yellowish pinks bidding darkness disappear Forerunners that tell us the sun is awake And it's laborious journey is about to make The day is too young to bare its mind Quietness in the air not a stir from the wind This early light of day so gentle and cool Will soon give way to heat when the day is full These colours on the horizon so multiplied By invisible hands bountifully supplied Will soon lose their individuality and hue Their colours transform to an all-white or blue If i were the decider of nature's acts unknown I will overthrow some eternal laws we've known And establish the morning light all day long That all may live as when we were young I SAW A TOMBSTONE Once upon a long journey bent As through this wild wood i went I came upon a ground so spacious And knew at once it's to someone quite precious I wondered about in a low tone And turning around i saw a tombstone And a figure that moved out of the wood The only living soul in the neighborhood He could not be more than thirty years Judging as it were, by the frame he bears The lines upon his face, i fain Is not the work of age but pain He called to me with the voice of a sage I knew i misjudged the years of his age Wayfairer,what beholdest thou, he said Art thou an adversary, or art thou come to my aid? Why do you gaze so long on an epitaph? Be on your way and let me mourn on your behalf For i am a man of endless sorrow That ends only when my death must follow Said i,am on a long journey bent And through this wide wood i am sent Why art thou of such a sorrowful mood? Tell me thy cause,for worse or for good Wayfairer, he said,thou art too questful And askest thou why i am sorrowful? Well, i am a youth as thou of a beautiful dream My life with joy was full to the brim Two and ten years ago with the love of my youth We came to this wood in innocency and truth According to tradition which for long we hold To share the evenings and the setting sun behold To welcome the coming night in each others company And with same parting memories endure the night's tyranny So we came on that fateful day About she went to sing and to play Then she saw a flower on that spot stand It was pink in colour, a most beautiful brand She stretched herself to pick the stem To pluck the flower, to hold it firm But that was the end of the plans we made That very moment was our farewell bade On her hand a serpent fastened its fangs She cried and tried but on it hangs I rushed to her but my aid was late I could not think nor contemplate She cried and swooned with her last effort The agony of death's cruel discomfort She died in my arms shortly afterwards As i lifted my tearful eyes heavenwards I cannot forget the pains of her death Nor my promise before her very last breath I was twenty years by then, i remember I will be thirty two by middle of this september Be on your way wayfairer, you look so pale Lest i weary you with my melancholy tale In faithfulness to my love i am here And will be here till my death, i fear Be on your way the day is far spent Pursue the adventure on which you are bent On your way you may find i am gone And there you will see another tombstone An epitaph that tells of my life and death And you are my witness as i go from the earth
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About the Book
The sound of silence is a book about nature, love and relationships.Nature has a profound touch or intimacy with man.This "touch" is most significant in all our interactions with it (nature itself).Incidentally, many do not have the time or the consciousness to tap into this refreshing and recreating power,that is manifest all around us.No wonder the Almighty in his initial plan,placed man in a garden! In this book such poems as Dilemma of a seer,Sunrise at dawn,The sound of silence and Friends of yesteryears among others are reflections on the power, light and language of nature. The power and influence of love on the human soul seems to have a subtle similarity with that exerted by nature.The only difference being in the mode and dimensions of operation.While the touch of nature is gentle and persuasive, the power of love is passionate and compelling.Most of us are aware of the ecstatic feelings of an evening-out, spent with a loved one in the presence of a retiring sunset.The silhouette of a beautiful mountain, set on fire by such an evening sun.Even the unpoetic begin to manifest poetic tendencies under such scenario.Such titles as A pathetic sunset,A hopeful mid-day,I saw a tombstone,The day we parted,My best friend, among others,are reflections on love and nature.Some common experiences we encounter in relationships are also represented in some titles in this book,as much as possible my posture had been honest and non judgemental especially with those true- life and personal experiences.The good,the bad, and the not-so bad as well as the pure fictional compositions.Some of this titles include among others,the following;To the one that used to love me,Will you marry me,Good journey,Book keeping,Responsibility,Constantly,Letters of gold,Ever learning,and Nothing more to lose.It is left to the discerning reader to discriminate between the figurative use of language in this book towards achieving hopefully, a worthwhile appreciation of this work,while trully believing that "when the chronicles are done, your name will be there with mine, written side by side in letters of gold"!
About the Author
Austin Okorie,is a native of okposi in Ohaozara L.G.A. Ebonyi State, south Easthern Nigeria.The promtings of poetic manifestations were obvious in his life from his mother's womb. He recals with romantic exhilaration, those moments spent in the woods as a child, where he experienced very intimate and unutterable communion with nature, "observing when an inch was added to their height" Mr Okorie who is an Architect by profession,believes that architecture and poetry are of the same parentage. He believes that every great architecture has the poetic principle at the basis of its conceptualization.He is married with children.