Winning poem for the slm 2019 poetry contest

1/8/2019

The winner for the The annual Sprinng Literary Movement Poetry Contest (2019) is Adediran Adetutu who will be receiving Prizes include a N25,000 cash prize and a N10,000 gift card to shop at Roving Heights Bookstore.

Read the Winning Poem below.

THIS IS HOW WE DISAPPEAR BY Adediran Adetutu

This is how we disappear,
word by word,
line by line,
a sigh for a word,
till we become third person pronouns in our stories.

This is how we fade away,
when we lend ourselves to be
spoken in another man's language.

Congratulations Adediran Adetutu!

10 Comments

Emmanuel Faith

7/8/2019 07:41:52 am

There is beauty in brevity and the poet definitely explored that beauty. Addressing a delicate yet quite important theme like "being authentic and being yourself" makes the brief piece a brilliant one.

I had an amazing read, you should too.

Áárinolá

13/8/2019 12:33:55 am

I totally agree with you.
So much thoughts embedded in those lines.

And congratulations Adetutu

Nuhu Favour M.

12/8/2019 07:02:28 pm

Congratulations

Ahmad Murtala

13/8/2019 01:58:02 am

Hmmm ! So touching, that every rational should see to it the beauty of their language and the philosophy of speaking others language in fading away the: culture, norms and tradition. Through these lines I see many language scrapping !
Congratulations Adediran !

Prudence

13/8/2019 02:08:24 am

Wow. Nice poem! Congratulations to you. You deserve the win.

Dorcas Odok

13/8/2019 02:52:11 am

Lovely indeed!!! It was worth the read.

Juliet

13/8/2019 06:43:54 am

This is beautiful. The deep philosophical message embedded in the lines...giving ourselves to the service of others. Congratulation Adediran

Mi Chael

14/8/2019 01:54:31 am

I Love This Piece, Congratulations !!!!!!

Dansabe Kuni link

14/8/2019 05:38:22 am

In a search for a brave, succinct and apt account of how we lost it completely in African both in the past and at present, and how we remain a second citizen in the world today, (and if care is not taken even till tomorrow), is exactly what Adediran Adetutu's short poem has just done. Of course, the expression"...we lend ourselves to be spoken in another man's language" simply underlines the fact that the focal point of the poem is on the "lose of African languages" to the Whiteman's "English" but I dare tell you that the poem equally braves and bricks consciousness towards several other areas where we all lost our" identity" to the "Whites", especially, when we talk about our cultural heritage in Africa, as well as values, traditions and fashion among others.

Why the poet keeps the lines as short as possible simply attests to the fact that, these lost glories in Africa are not something hidden. They could easily be detected when we consciously peep into the gory days that becloud the senses of our dear black soil. No wonder, the lopsidedness are seen on the faces of the average person on the African street today on how Africans relegate themselves to be treated as second class citizens, especially in the way poverty turns people's best friends both in minds and in the physical.

Truth be told, the easiest way to grasp and entrapped a nation is simply through language. The poem simply reminds us of how we allowed and still allowing ourselves to be entrapped to the foreign Cultural identity in Africa today through our senseless judgement of a "smart" child, for instance, as a child who is fluent in "English". Like the poet reiterates in "...word by word, line by line...", i would say that this is how we have been shooting ourselves in the feet. A typically assumed "literate" Yoruba home in Nigeria today, priorities "English Language" over and above the mother tongue (Yoruba Language) by weighing fluency in English as bravery, brilliancy and intelligence. And in my little understanding and knowledge of what qualifies a language to be a language, none of these do actually. "No language should be termed irrelevance in as much as it is capable of social existence (communication). This is why all language are equal" says Michael Halliday. This however, outscores the daily insanities in the lose of our values in Africa.

The recurrent choice of the simple present tense in the poem such as "is, disappear, fade, and becomes" among others is stylistic. It compels attention towards the present negative effects of the bewildered senses of westernisation in the name of civilisation in Africa today.

Thus, I must say that the choice of dictions does not just take us down memory lane to where and how we have been getting it all wrong in history but perfectly paints a simple and clear picture with good imageries of the lose glory in African due to our lopsidedness in the crave for a western or civilise life style. Kudos winner!

Roseline Mgbodichinma Anya okorie link

14/8/2019 08:01:51 pm

This is a concise and didactic poem that explores the beauty of language, the poet reminds us of the power of language and how we are truly invisible and minute without language. This poem gives me courage to tell my story, our story...it is some sort of empowerment to rewrite our history and keep it safe for posterity, so that we would not read our history to our children and wonder "is this a scene from the white man's benevolence ..did this really happen to us!..so congratulations to the winner , this win was deserving

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