WIWA!
Calabar, Nigeria
2023, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word
Climate Hero: Ken Saro Wiwa
“Lord take my soul but the struggle continues.’’ -Ken Saro Wiwa
kenule (a sun is a shield when it turns its back on the earth)
Your spirit shines brighter than the candle that bears it home
Your soul travels on this part where water is thicker than blood
Your body is a temple where burnt trees go to pay homage.
saro (a name is a thing that defies the sharpness of teeth)
You spoke a dialect whose meaning could decode lies
For a people whose tongues were clothed with oil spillage
After a battle with teeth hanging on Shells
Shells whose tears dripping on land could start a fire.
This poem is a reminder that your words is on a time travel
Though the land that your skin covered still remain in black
This poem is your spirit guiding us through the darkness of degradation.
wiwa (a song can be heard even in darkness)
Your dance is teaching us a choreography in the rage of the predators
Even as the land is submerged in crude, we still learn to move
Our elbows smiting the air free of soot
For the day is coming when your spirit will take shape,
Like a metaphor for recreation.
Reflection
Reflection
When I first heard about the Contest prompt on climate heroes, only one person came to my mind - Ken Saro Wiwa. This comes from the impact this one man had in his heyday as an environmental activist. Even though he died 27 years ago, his voice and words still resonate today. As I read more about him, I was humbled by his impact fighting for environmental and social justice for the suppressed people of Ogoniland in Niger Delta Nigeria. He stood up to the powers that be; and even though his life was brutally cut short in a military execution, his spirit and legacy still continue to inspire many in Nigeria to this day. I am one of them. My poem also draws inspiration from the belief system of ancestry. As a Nigerian, I believe strongly in roots and how it feeds life. I believe that to draw strength, it's important to look to those that have gone ahead of me.