NewStats: 3,262,230 , 8,176,530 topics. Date: Sunday, 01 June 2025 at 01:06 PM 5d4641

In the city
where we
grew up

when cars speed by
bus stops at night, that is where
grown-up men stand to search
for what's left of all the comion the
world gave yesterday. There is
none in the mirrors - no comion
whatsoever; it shows the dark
circles under their eyes, it
laughs at their qualifications, spits
at their university degrees. No
comion.

These men feel the weightlessness of
their own heads when they nod. They
know the emptiness in their
skulls when they hear echoes, but
they don't know enough words
to describe all the fires that burn in
their souls when they
all of society's wise words. There is
no wisdom in what society says - they
know! But that's not enough reason
to not smile and nod empty heads
to the songs that society sings.

It's like searching for one's
reflection in broken mirrors so the images
are distorted. Or hating the truth with
half of your heart and fighting it
with the other half.

In the city
where we
grew up

they have men who pile up
their certificates and write their suicide
notes on them. The tables are too hard
and the floors are harder; the certificates
make their suicide notes come out neater.
They have a long bridge that sleeps on
the ocean. That is where the men wait
for the darkness and jump, unsure if
they are ending their pains or starting
them. Dawn doesn't come before they know.

Was it my brother who said it?
That he knows men in the city who
are just learning how to be mad,
but have enough certificates
to prove they're experts
at it.

This is really good llaykorn.

Great piece here

Wow... Nice piece

Brilliant piece.

This is good, Llaykorn


Can I borrow your topic? I feel something insane forming.

JigsawKillah:
This is good, Llaykorn


Can I borrow your topic? I feel something insane forming.

Haha. Insane bawo? Go on, drop something and call my name.

texanomaly:
This is really good llaykorn.

Thank you, Tex. Been a thousand years. I never knew you still dropped in here.

bqlekan:
Great piece here

Thanks bro. Been sometime I saw one of your own pieces too.

elfico:
Brilliant piece.

Thanks bro.

Suicide and strife.


What's the structure of the poem, llaykorn. Kinda looks like prose poetry to me, seeing how you break your lines after a punctuation mark.

llaykorn:


Thank you, Tex. Been a thousand years. I never knew you still dropped in here.

You're welcome. I check in occasionally. You have always been a talented poet. I'm glad I checked on the right day to see this.

M.

llaykorn:


Thanks bro. Been sometime I saw one of your own pieces too.

thanks bro, just been a bit busy these days

texanomaly:


You're welcome. I check in occasionally. You have always been a talented poet. I'm glad I checked on the right day to see this.

Thank you texanomaly. In the days we were all active on the NPC group, I learnt a lot from your poetry and all the critiques you did. Thank you.

bqlekan:
M.thanks bro, just been a bit busy these days

Fight hard, bro. May we never lose our pens.

AfroSamurai:
Suicide and strife.


What's the structure of the poem, llaykorn. Kinda looks like prose poetry to me, seeing how you break your lines after a punctuation mark.

Suicide, yes, and strife. Many years ago, I'd be happy to say it's PP. These days, I'm not so sure anymore. Modern poetry has started to take very strange forms. What do you think, texanomaly timpaker pdizzle ?

llaykorn:


Suicide, yes, and strife. Many years ago, I'd be happy to say it's PP. These days, I'm not so sure anymore. Modern poetry has started to take very strange forms. What do you think, texanomaly timpaker pdizzle ?

laykorn boss. nice piece as usual, the penultimate stanza was really nice.
yes poetry is evolving, in vary scary forms.

llaykorn:


Suicide, yes, and strife. Many years ago, I'd be happy to say it's PP. These days, I'm not so sure anymore. Modern poetry has started to take very strange forms. What do you think, texanomaly timpaker pdizzle ?

You a quite right.

Modern poetry has evolved into various "strange" forms in the 20th century as the notable form of expression has always been the free verse form, and I think poets are mostly influenced by its ability to allow one pen their thoughts without constraints.

Also, going by the recent happenings and outright criticism by poets on how the world view poetry, some opined that poetry has lost its uniqueness as many prefer to write without beautifying it with hundreds of forms nor evoke the reader's thought. It is on this fact that Adrian Mitchell said most people will ignore poetry as long as poetry goes on ignoring most people.

But in truest fact, poets now justify their poems by the happenings and norms of poetry that they see is acceptable, an instance is the Noble prize award of literature to Bob Dylan which is an oblique view of how some poets view things. Its clearly different from the orthodox approach as modern poetry sees literature itself in a very large form. These contemporary poems of literature are judged based on lyrical content than style or skills with some strange forms of poetry found music, films, and even paintings.

llaykorn:


Thank you texanomaly. In the days we were all active on the NPC group, I learnt a lot from your poetry and all the critiques you did. Thank you.

My pleasure

timpaker:


You a quite right.

Modern poetry has evolved into various "strange" forms in the 20th century as the notable form of expression has always been the free verse form, and I think poets are mostly influenced by its ability to allow one pen their thoughts without constraints.

Also, going by the recent happenings and outright criticism by poets on how the world view poetry, some opined that poetry has lost its uniqueness as many prefer to write without beautifying it with hundreds of forms nor evoke the reader's thought. It is on this fact that Adrian Mitchell said most people will ignore poetry as long as poetry goes on ignoring most people.

But in truest fact, poets now justify their poems by the happenings and norms of poetry that they see is acceptable, an instance is the Noble prize award of literature to Bob Dylan which is an oblique view of how some poets view things. Its clearly different from the orthodox approach as modern poetry sees literature itself in a very large form. These contemporary poems of literature are judged based on lyrical content than style or skills with some strange forms of poetry found music, films, and even paintings.

Thank you sir, and I agree that 'style' is dead, I swear. Apart from the fact that free verse has become the dominant thing, it seems like modern poets are not only competing in lyrical prowess but also in coming up with strangest form of the free verse. The world is accepting this and it has gone beyond what can be dismissed as a trend for younger poets. The last Brunel Prize affirms my claim. Here is a link to some of the pieces submitted by shortlisted poets. You might be amazed.

http://www.africanpoetryprize.org/press-release-shortlist-2016

I feel very good about this, however. Sonnets and meter, I have always beleived, are only a perfect way of alienating this art. An art that should be available people, ordinary people who want to write their pain or scribble their joy. (Forget the fact that iamb, trochee, dactyl, are things that cause me massive headaches anytime I try to understand them )

Pdizzle:


laykorn boss. nice piece as usual, the penultimate stanza was really nice.
yes poetry is evolving, in vary scary forms.

thanks.

you stopped writing bro?

llaykorn:


thanks.

you stopped writing bro?

mad writers block

Bless you.