Beyond The Word

"Some of us - poets are not exactly poets. We live sometimes - beyond the word."

The life of a poet is one beleaguered by metaphors.

Someone rightly said about Thomas Gray's 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard' that lots of people had seen that same church cemetry, had been there, tasted the atmosphere, drank in the fragrance of the buds before this great poet came to the place with eyes simple enough to see his surroundings but not one of these saw the unwritten verse hanging, dangling like the ancient apple, tempting anybody who would look close enough to turn 'em into everlasting words.

Wole Soyinka as a young man.

As a poet it is not just about seeing the ideas posing in your face. Remember  Wordsworth's famous definition of poetry:

'Emotion recollected in tranquility'

The primary essence of poetry is being able to capture the 'feel' of that moment, the emotion which inspired the verse and to bring that into the words that becomes the 'visible' poem.

If you look closer you'll find that it is not the words that is poetry but the emotion borne in the phrases and breathed into the reader. The words are like symbols, allographs scribbled representative of something deep and more meaningful, almost too sacred to be 'corrupted' by mere alphabets.

Poetry goes beyond the words and even those few times its invention is spontaneous the rush of inspiration takes credit. A good poem, a masterpiece is rarely ever created in one sitting. It undergoes tons and tons of revision and editing. Sometimes, you might have to blog it to know what others think about it before you can add the finishing touches.

Understanding the Professor, Wole Soyinka's words quoted at the beginning of this article you need to know where he has been. His poems echo his life in prison, his days in exile and his years of contending with corrupt military juntas. Poems from Prison (1969) and The Man Died: Prison Notes (1972) describe his close to 30 months in a Nigerian prison, and his play, King Baabu is a satire of African dictators.

So the next time you pick up your pen to write poetry remember to paddle a few miles offshore and really live 'beyond the word'.

Akpan

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