Lonely Thoughts
Poems about Life
by
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1. Fear not Poems By Simon Peter Esaku Fear not poems, I say, dear friend, 'Cause of those complicated words And twisted lines that in the end Discourage you reading the poet's works. Let a word not intimidate you, dear, As one word the poet oft can say Purposely to mean another thing near And a line condense into a word today. For you to understand his rich poem The poet does not stubbornly refuse But just that at times he, the poet, Fixes words in positions that confuse. The poet can place the first word last And the last first while keeping the sense, He can interchange lines and phrases fast Interrupting the flow and making you tense. So you should not then fear poems anymore But alone, quietly, read them under a cool tree Or while lying on your bed and what's more, Speed your mind with hot coffee, you'll see. Read poems so your bosom can feel Those old melancholy moments and bliss That the poet's mind alone can see, Indescribable feelings you shouldn't miss. Enjoy sweet sounds each in a place Carefully chosen, repetition, rhyme; Sounds flowing on in an endless grace; Read poems- you'll remember I was right. 2. The Party in Galilee By Simon Peter Esaku I was in that Galilee seaside dinner Now in my antique memory a glimmer Hosted by a certain bearded Nazarine After performing a unique divine rite. You should have been there dear friend To see the Jew gaze at heaven's vain end, Give thanks and break the bread and fish Till pieces multiplied to fill every dish. I was one of the five thousand men Seated twixt the children and women Who became too satisfied to finish The five loaves of bread and fish. I was there when the Jew fled to solitude Because the awestricken, amazed multitude Wanted to seize him and crown him a king And jubilant crowds to him began to sing. 5. The Ideal Man By Simon Peter Esaku The ideal man is the envied man, The semi-mechanical man Who's both flesh and machine, Walking from the hospital To the mechanical workshop, Never easily giving up living When there are spare parts. The ideal man is the man Who can pluck off his ears And stash them in his pocket, A person who can swallow Pain killers to stop headache And buy in a shop a pair of Torch bulbs to replace his eyes. One who can return later To ask the eye specialist, “Hullo, are my eyes ready?” And be told quite politely, “Sir, come back at midday” While he stubbornly insists, “But I'm going to see my friend.” The man who can adjust Mechanically the size of his stomach Depending on whether he is hungry Or over-satisfied with food and drink; Who can, moreover, adjust his feet To sixty-five kilometers per hour When he's late on the way home. One who laughs heartily this second And breaks into tears the next, Forgets his woes when he wills And remembers anything he wants to. A person who can swallow tiny Power batteries in place of food And can unfold built-in sunglasses. The man who has a reliable zip The whole length of his back From the nape to the exhaust pipe, A zip that the doctor opens To examine internal organs. A person not limited by parts, Today a man, tomorrow a woman. One who carries a tool kit- Spanners, screw drivers, ammeters … And, as it were, a first aid kit- Bandages, syringes, glucose, tablets … A person who can say outright To a second-hand face dealer, “Sir, these lips ain't my size.” The man who is born but alterable, Can overcome human handicaps, Now working manually, then mechanically, This part feeling, that part insensitive And only dies, so to say, unwillingly. Such, truly, is the ideal man, The much envied ideal man. 13. The Barmaid By Simon Peter Esaku On the huge logs ten men sat sipping local beer In gourds outside the grass-thatched mud hut. This was the rendezvous for many a peer To gain Dutch courage and their thirst cut. For the barefooted, short-skirted barmaid, It was not about selling beer alone to customers But diversity to get money for her rent unpaid And to buy food, perfume and her skin toners. As the revelers became tipsy, their voices rose And so did their ego to wet their throats more. “One more gourd please,” yelled one for a dose, So she could not, her plan to do, wait anymore. Beside him she knelt as she served the brew Brushing her breasts against his shoulder thick And whispering to his ear, as near dusk drew, “Sir, by the way, I also sell the other thing.” 63. Faith, Hope and Love By Simon Peter Esaku Faith believes, it believes and acts without seeing. Faith is adventurous, it believes the impossible. It makes you act like a madman before others, It is your anchor in the tempest, tempest, tempest. Hope expects, it does not give up in hardships, Hope is patient, it dies last even if there is failure. It makes you move on and gives you the reason, It is the fuel that keeps you going, going, going. Love gives, it does not expect something in return, Love is selfless, it goes after good, does not hurt. It makes you forgive and overlook the bad side, It is the fountain that issues forth joy, joy, joy.
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About the Book
Simon Peter Esaku has introduced a reader friendly style in poetry in “Lonely Thoughts: Poems about Life.” His poems are easy to read, interesting, entertaining, educational and relevant. He treats the reader to various ingredients of poetry and with varied themes, makes him or her identify with situations. The author draws his inspiration from personal experiences, observation and imagination. He is a blend of talent and school and university skills in poetry. Exposure from his work travels and journalism skills have added to the smoothness of his poems. Esaku is a journalist, photographer and author with World Vision in Kampala since 1997. His work writing news stories, features and books for the international NGO has taken him to most parts of Uganda and to the Dem. Rep. of Congo, Kenya, South Africa and Thailand. His stories and photos in magazines and websites abroad have raised millions of dollars for World Vision working in over 100 countries and employing 41,000 staff. Esaku is considered one of the best writers and photographers in the organisation. Previously, the author worked for the Ministry of Information as a features writer. He won the prize for the best AIDS features writer in Uganda in 1992. The Commonwealth Trust awarded him a four-month study tour in the UK in 1993. Simon Peter Esaku was born in Kateta sub-county in today's Serere district in Eastern Uganda in 1957. He's the second born of eleven children of Mislam Atolong and Margaret Acobo. He attended Sebei College Tegeres for his O Level (1971-1974) and Boroboro Secondary School for A Level (1975-1976) where he studied History, Economics and Literature including poetry. In his first year in Makerere University in 1977, Esaku studied History, Political Science and Literature with poetry. He graduated in B.A Political Science and Public Administration in 1980. He trained in journalism in Uganda and in West Germany at the International Institute for Journalism. Now he is studying M.A in Mass Communication at Makerere University.
About the Author
The readers will like “Lonely Thoughts: Poems about Life” because the poems are easy to read, interesting, entertaining, educational and relevant. I wrote these poems with the reader in mind. Many readers think poems are difficult to read and understand. Therefore I made these poems simple and easy to understand without diluting poetry. I open the book with the poem, “Fear not Poems” and later include “The Poet” and “The Bandwagon” to make the reader like poetry. He will find the style of the poems interesting and entertaining- the usage of words, the ideas and the various ingredients of poetry- repetition, rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, imagery, transposition etcetera. He will like the mix of long and short poems, and the different lengths and formats of stanzas. He will identify with the varied themes- life, death, love, marriage, separation, revenge, grief, poverty, politics, spiritual, nature's beauty, stories, imaginations and visions. He will learn about poetry, the human mind, and about life elsewhere. I spend a lot of time reading and thinking about poems. I see poems everywhere- in hymns, Proverbs and Psalms, at home, in the office, in the village, in the sky, in the food …. I write poems with passion and inspiration which started when I was 18 years old. At the time I was doing my Advanced Level (Senior 5 and 6) in Boroboro Secondary School (1975-1976). I studied Literature which included poetry. In my first year at Makerere University in Kampala in 1977, I continued with Literature in English and started writing poems and have been reading and writing poems since. Even as a journalist since 1981, my travels within Uganda, the U.K, Germany, Thailand, South Africa, Kenya and in the Democratic Republic of Congo have also provided exposure and inspiration for poems. I have drawn from both the literary skills and the journalism skills of writing news stories, features and books to write these poems.