It is a well-known truism that poetry reflects society and human experiences. It often serves as a mirror of the lived realities of the poet, depicted through the image of an imaginary poetic persona who frequently offers a revealing confession about the poet’s life.

Numerous examples can be found in the works of notable poets like Sylvia Plath, Maya Angelou, Wole Soyinka, Christopher Okigbo, Niyi Osundare, and Sadiq Dzukogi, among many others. The aforementioned poets’ poetics enables a critical evaluation and understanding of the existential crises and sociocultural or political realities that influenced their poetic precepts at different stages of life.

For instance, in Plath, we see her struggle with suicide; in             , we see protests against the failed political class; in Angelou, we see a nuanced exploration of racism and the struggles of black women in America. In Osundare, we observe social anger and the romanticization of social idealism; in Okigbo, we confront the urgency of African spirituality and traditions; and in Dzukogi, we are exposed to the trauma of grief and loss. These portrayals underscore poetry’s subtle power as an agent of social consciousness and memory.

Similarly, in Esther O. Eriwayo’s Flower Blooms, we encounter the reimagination of strife, tradition, love, existentialism, and the dogged hope for respite in spite of daunting odds. It is the belief in a better future that fuels the desire for change and growth. For Eriwayo, poetry is more than a vehicle for venting her rage against a hostile system driven by patriarchy; it is a cogent tool for narrativising and documenting her family’s journey of indignity and the promise of utopia.

To Eriwayo, life is lived in chapters, with each chapter representing a concrete memory of an event or events that shaped her perception of the world. This, perhaps, explains the chapterisation of the collection, each poem representing a special moment of bliss or despair.

The collection opens with chapter one with a poem, titled, Love’s Embrace (p.21) in which the persona paints a picture of a happy family defined by love and positive moments of family bliss. But beyond its positive energy, it sets a subtle agenda of the unexpected chaos that is to emerge as a result of the societal pressure and dislocation that the family is subjected to, fulfilling societal expectations driven by the patriarchal privileging of a male child over a female child. Her father, a once loving and doting father, is forced to take a new wife to bear a son who will perpetuate his legacy. The persona perceives this as a betrayal and the start of the destabilisation of her once-peaceful family, made up of five sisters. The first stanza of the opening poem corroborates this assertion:

In a family of five sisters, our story begins,
Amidst a home where laughter and love always wins,
Each morning we’d wake to the warmth of their smiles,
Our parents’ love, the foundation of our lives.(p.21)

However, in chapter three, titled, A Quest for Legacy, things begin to fall apart when the pressures of tradition demand that her father take another wife who will bear a son that will continue his legacy, as is common in most traditional African societies. This development inflicts psychological trauma on the persona, whose once beautiful and happy family is threatened by societal expectations. Perturbed by this harsh reality, she remarks in the first stanza of the poem, thus:

As our family’s story unfolds, a new chapter begins,
A tide of tradition, tugs at the heart within,
A desire for a son, to carry the family name,
A deep-rooted wish, that lit a burning flame.
(p.25)

The persona views polygamy as inimical to her family’s happiness. Her father marrying a new wife implies that they, as female children, are not enough; only a male child, by societal estimation, will guarantee the sustenance of the family’s lineage. This portrayal suggests that in traditional African societies, a male child is privileged over female children, a reality that is common in patriarchal societies. While many liberals would want to wish this obsolete societal practice dead, the reality on the ground in many traditional African families indicates that preferential treatment is still accorded male children despite the giant strides and accomplishments recorded by women like Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Aminu Muhammed, and other notable women of excellence across the globe and Africa.
While dealing with this unfortunate development, the persona’s retributive gaze is cast on the social dysfunction occasioned by bad governance, which neglects the deplorable social conditions in which ordinary citizens live, when unsympathetic governments dislodge ordinary citizens from their humble abodes to pave the way for mega structures that serve the neo-capitalist elites of the society. The first stanza of the poem in chapter five, titled, Shattered Homes, Broken Dreams, reiterates the harsh consequences of government policies which doesn’t consider the plight of the poor. The first stanza of the poem reads:

As the dawn broke, on a fateful day,
The winds of change, swept through our way,
For on the mainland, a decree was made,
That houses would fall, and lives would be frayed.
(p.29)

The decision of the government to demolish the abode of the persona on the mainland implies that they are bound to become destitutes in their own country, enabled by an unsympathetic government that prioritises capitalist ventures over the dignity of its citizens. For example, as a result of the demolition of the persona’s home on the mainland leads to she and her family become internally displaced persons who find a new home in her mother’s shop, where they are joined by other destitutes whom her mother accepts to live with them in their shop, something the persona describes as “Our people slept, in the cold, dark air.”
(p.30)

The exigency of this representation is reechoed in chapter six, titled, A Market Homes, A test of Hope, in which the persona enthuses in the first stanza thus:
As the dust settled, on our family’s plight,
We found ourselves, in a desperate fight,
For shelter and solace, in a world so unkind,
Our mother’s shop became our lifeline.
(p.31)
In chapter seven, titled, Family Found, Amongst the Strife, the persona eulogises her mother’s kindness and generosity. Despite her own predicament, she is receptive and sympathetic to those who, like her, have been dislocated by the government without hope of respite.

Liam, culture writer, poet, is a communication specialist.

The persona remarks about her mother thus:
As our journey continued, in the midst of strife,
Our mother’s kindness, brought new life,
For children in need, she opened her door,
And took them in, to share our floor.
(p.33)
This portrayal presupposes that women, unlike men, are compassionate beings who are sympathetic and considerate in their actions, especially in dire situations. Hence, her mother’s shop becomes a source of refuge in the face of wanton hopelessness. Eriwayo, without being hateful or distrustful, subtly reveals the social class divisions that leave the downtrodden in a state of dystopia, for no sane nation subjects its citizens to indignity such as is obtainable in Nigeria. However, Eriwayo is not overwhelmed by the onerous challenges she faces as she rises above her trials, finds solace in her study and love for poetry while in the university, she nurses her creative writing talent, becoming a poet and chronicler of her life’s travails.
Beyond using poetry to render social commentaries on the injustices in society and reflecting on her family’s woes, she expresses a positive vision of hope and regeneration in the last epilogue, titled, A Dawn, in which she asserts in the first stanza that:
As this chapter closes, a new dawn awaits,
Filled with promise, and endless gates.
The journey’s just begun, a path anew,
With endless possibilities, a sky of blue.
(p.115)
Indeed, a withered flower when nurtured with love and patience shall bloom again and take flight. This is the unmistakable message that underpines Eriwayo’s debut collection of poetry. It is a carefully curated collection of poetry embellished with the aesthetic nuance of prose. Though the collection is accessible and experimental, it could have benefited from sturdier editing. For example, the chapterisation of a work of poetry is an uncommon innovation, as well as the numbering style which marks the end and beginning of new stanzas. This, however, does not invalidate the promise of Esther O. Eriwayo’s deeply personal and socially conscious poetics. It is certainly a fine contribution to the evolving corpus of new Nigerian poetry.
Liam, culture writer, poet, is a communication specialist.
Pix: Flower Blooms