Dr. Christopher Okemwa, poet and writer from Kenya invites all poets to write two original poems on ‘Silence’
Nairobi
Dr. Christopher Okemwa, poet, writer and editor from Kenya, wrote that silence is not just the absence of something, but as someone once said, “It’s a realm of possibilities, a canvas of emotions, and a mirror to the soul”. Silence has many metaphors, such as “silence is golden.”, “silence is deafening”, “silence is a veil of snow”, “silence is a mirror”, “silence is a veil of secrecy”, “silence is sanctuary”, “silence is a lullaby”, etc. With its many metaphors, silence seems to play a role in our existence and the way we human beings perceive things….
He added: “When God created the earth, he intended it to be silent and peaceful, only filled with chirps, tweets, cheeps, and warbles; chatters, screeches, and buzzes; whistling and swoosh of winds, natural sounds of rainfall and thunder; ribbit, roars, and hoots of owls, woofs, growls and whimpers of animals; neighs, whines and snorts of horses; cock-a-doodle-dos of roosters, etc. This silent setting was created for human beings, in essence, to be a means of reflection and meditation, of seeing or reaching out towards the inside of oneself, and to find solace, excitement and happiness within oneself.”
He explained that although this silence has, of recent, been subdued by noises from industries, motor-vehicles, human conversations from market-places, trains and airplanes, it is important that one seeks a moment of silence, a moment of inwardness, in which one intermingles with the sprit that lies within them. It is this same silence or condition of quietude that a creative Muse can be compelled to visit and inspire a poet to compose. It is in silence that prayers are offered. It is in silence one finds God. It is in silence one forgives. It is in silence one dreams. It is in silence that the spirit of the dead finds its way to Olympus, its resting abode.
Silence seems to play a role in our existence and the way we human beings perceive things….
Recently Dr. Christopher Okemwa received a poem on silence from his friend-poet, Moncho Iglesias Míguez (Vigo City, Galicia, Spain). It reads as follows:
“Silence.
Come and go without dispute with the world
Wind and rain
Blooming or dying
Silence of myself
Lightly whispering
Do you know if
Past life
This life
Afterlife
Fate comes and goes
Learning to move forward
Smile heart pass
Everything will pass
Deeply beautiful”
This poem awakened echoes in him and stirred his depths. He now wants to collect poems on Silence from around the world. He invites all poets to write two original poems on “Silence” (no length restrictions) and send them to him by festival@kistrechpoetry.org and he will include them in the anthology on “Silence”.
The title of each poem should be in capital letters, followed below it by author’s name and country both in Italics, with a bio of 200 words or less at the end of the two poems, using Helvetica, font 12 before sending it in one file, word format, before 1st of August 2024. The subject of e-mail should be Anthology on Silence.
Your submission is an indication that poets have given Dr. Christopher Okemwa permission to publish those poems in this anthology. He will send a PDF version of the anthology to each contributor. Those who might want to own a paperback or hard copy of the anthology will have to purchase it from the publisher or buy it on-line.
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