CRYLAND Woes and Other Poems, is an anthology of beautiful poetry by Onyechi Mbamali which encapsulates the author’s feelings as well as disappointments towards a country in the doldrums which otherwise should have been occupying a revered position among the developed countries of the world.
The anthology is presented to readers as a plethora of human pain documented in times of helplessness and disappointments.
A large part of the anthology contains poems that paint a vivid picture of the level of devastation in the Niger Delta region and therefore, are lamentations on a doomed region in a failed state, the resultant effect of corruption, treachery, greed, injustice and selfishness. Level of injustice and decay The aptly illustrative cover page also lends its voice to the poet’s lamentation as readers would critically decipher a state of confusion and destruction enveloping an individual. Appropriately titled, Cryland Woes and Other Poems, readily suggests feelings of gloom and coming from a poet of Mbamali’s calibre, one expects nothing less especially considering the level of injustice and decay existing in a naturally endowed region such as Niger Delta.
The poems of varying lengths and verses, showcase Mbamali’s earnest desire to help individuals attain both spiritual and social change while interrogating the origin of crisis in the country which according to him, dates back to its creation. The book avers that the country’s pitiable condition only grew worse due to fact that the country failed to “define and honestly guarantee her citizens the fundamental human rights to life and sanity.”
The poets preface to the poems is another poem in its entirety. Like a volcanic eruption, he forces his pain down his readers’ minds, awakening the consciousness of the political class, to the impending but avoidable catastrophe if they choose to let the country remain in comatose.
Mbamali’s poems are crafted with such dexterity that even when they appear as unwavering lamentations that are indictment on the ruling class, they are also to be enjoyed as beautiful lines. Although the poems are arranged in three parts, they emphasise a common theme covering “a past of conflict, the present of confusion and a future of no certain coordinates.”
Read Also: Mbamali’s anthology of captivating lamentations
The riveting verses in part one e.g, Swamplands Ablaze (1-111), bring to the fore the devastation on the land as a result of vandalism, bombings, etc. Part three of the anthology which begins with the title of the collection, Cryland Woes, reflects much of the gloomy state of the country. Cryland Woes 1-3, Foiled Acres 1-2, As Darkness Falls 1-2, Excerptions 1-2, Exodus 1-2, Omens Ignored 1-2, etc, are titles that reflect the state of the land.
Rumble of Rubble (1), speaks of the level of joblessness, starvation and devastation confronting a voiceless and hapless people. In Rumble of Rubble (11), the poet laments that his people may be experiencing crisis as other countries across the globe, but he is much pained for the simple fact that there isn’t any “… voice to speak for them.”
In other not to confuse the poet’s intentions in verses contained in “There shall Yet the Guns Agains” and “Omens Ignored”, Mbamali advises that “They are only reminiscent of the punctuating snuffles in a child’s sob, tearful soliloquies nursing pangs and spasms for a deeper conversation in the land.” Salute to Mbamali for being unpretentious in his poetics! Written in a very simple language and adopting the narrative style of poetry, “May we not be like them” admonishes the masses who have been on the receiving end of injustice, to continue in virtue so as not to find themselves in the positions of the destroyers. The lines here are strong! “For water, they shall stand instead a drink of instant blood.”
Credit: Vanguard
The anthology is presented to readers as a plethora of human pain documented in times of helplessness and disappointments.
A large part of the anthology contains poems that paint a vivid picture of the level of devastation in the Niger Delta region and therefore, are lamentations on a doomed region in a failed state, the resultant effect of corruption, treachery, greed, injustice and selfishness. Level of injustice and decay The aptly illustrative cover page also lends its voice to the poet’s lamentation as readers would critically decipher a state of confusion and destruction enveloping an individual. Appropriately titled, Cryland Woes and Other Poems, readily suggests feelings of gloom and coming from a poet of Mbamali’s calibre, one expects nothing less especially considering the level of injustice and decay existing in a naturally endowed region such as Niger Delta.
The poems of varying lengths and verses, showcase Mbamali’s earnest desire to help individuals attain both spiritual and social change while interrogating the origin of crisis in the country which according to him, dates back to its creation. The book avers that the country’s pitiable condition only grew worse due to fact that the country failed to “define and honestly guarantee her citizens the fundamental human rights to life and sanity.”
The poets preface to the poems is another poem in its entirety. Like a volcanic eruption, he forces his pain down his readers’ minds, awakening the consciousness of the political class, to the impending but avoidable catastrophe if they choose to let the country remain in comatose.
Mbamali’s poems are crafted with such dexterity that even when they appear as unwavering lamentations that are indictment on the ruling class, they are also to be enjoyed as beautiful lines. Although the poems are arranged in three parts, they emphasise a common theme covering “a past of conflict, the present of confusion and a future of no certain coordinates.”
Read Also: Mbamali’s anthology of captivating lamentations
The riveting verses in part one e.g, Swamplands Ablaze (1-111), bring to the fore the devastation on the land as a result of vandalism, bombings, etc. Part three of the anthology which begins with the title of the collection, Cryland Woes, reflects much of the gloomy state of the country. Cryland Woes 1-3, Foiled Acres 1-2, As Darkness Falls 1-2, Excerptions 1-2, Exodus 1-2, Omens Ignored 1-2, etc, are titles that reflect the state of the land.
Rumble of Rubble (1), speaks of the level of joblessness, starvation and devastation confronting a voiceless and hapless people. In Rumble of Rubble (11), the poet laments that his people may be experiencing crisis as other countries across the globe, but he is much pained for the simple fact that there isn’t any “… voice to speak for them.”
In other not to confuse the poet’s intentions in verses contained in “There shall Yet the Guns Agains” and “Omens Ignored”, Mbamali advises that “They are only reminiscent of the punctuating snuffles in a child’s sob, tearful soliloquies nursing pangs and spasms for a deeper conversation in the land.” Salute to Mbamali for being unpretentious in his poetics! Written in a very simple language and adopting the narrative style of poetry, “May we not be like them” admonishes the masses who have been on the receiving end of injustice, to continue in virtue so as not to find themselves in the positions of the destroyers. The lines here are strong! “For water, they shall stand instead a drink of instant blood.”
Credit: Vanguard
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