Happy Birthday??? by Olulu

Happy Birthday??? 

Time heals???
Maybe, 
but the pain never leaves.
A phone number that can no longer be answered by the voice that owns it.
A picture is all the physical evidence left,
thus memories are all we can cherish right now.
I have asked "Why" for so long, 
but getting an answer is not guaranteed.
So all I can say is,
Sleep on my beautiful sister, continue to rest in the Lord.
Hope they are throwing a party for you today,
do enjoy yourself as the Angels sing aloud.
Happy Birthday dear.









by Olulu

No more tears by Daniel Ikekhuah.

No more tears

I feel shame when I look into the mirror;

I feel bitter to see what I’ve become.

I can’t tell my friends or family; who would believe me?

I can’t tell the police, they will only mock me.

I am that girl who people describe as little;

But you really don’t have a clue what I’ve been through.

The ones who are supposed to protect me;

End up taking advantage of me.

At sixteen I was called a pretty teen;

But daily I deal with low self-esteem.

Used and abused by the ones I look up to;

I being pushed, and might take my life if it comes to.

Marriage was supposed to be my sweet haven;

Nothing else to compare except God’s Holy Heaven.

But in the arms of the one I truly  loved;

I suffer the pain of his fist as thick as gloves.

And when he is not hitting me;

He speaks uncaring cold hearted words, stinging me.

For better fore worse was the vow I took;

But better remains oblivious,

As this journey keeps growing worse.

I am that woman next door;

We even go to the same market, in the same bus;

I am that girl in your classroom;

Who you think is being pompous in your point of view;

I am the little girl in the playground;

All by myself, ensuring no boy is around.

I yearn to tell my story

That justice would take the glory

But will you accept back in society

And not point your fingers back at me….

I beckon on you;

Come to my rescue.

Help tell my story;

That justice would take the glory.

Else I'll cry; till I have no more tears in my eyes.

by Daniel Ikekhuah

Word Up Volume 6 is scheduled for November 23, 2013 at Terra Kulture, V/Island, Lagos, with the theme, "Stop the violence." The event theme is centered around the United Nation’s “International day for the elimination of violence against women.” 

IMAGINE HOW I FEEL...."SpeakingFromKupsy'sMind"

IMAGINE HOW I FEEL……………

There’s this saying, it has to do with how one feels

If your thoughts can be attacked, that can influence how one feels

One can be at the point where one knows but words fail to express how one feels,

Explaining is a waste of time, you couldn't understand what one feels

It’s real when you feel that feeling because there’s a lot out there set out to influence one on how one ought to feel

Would a little more money, more drinks, more this and that leave a lasting favorable impact on how one ought to feel

You need to get your mind right and face what you feel, engage yourself, take up a challenge, overcoming it can give you a good feel to the feel

For a long time coming, only the voices in our heads knows how one really feels

It’s been the main persecutor and comforter at the same time, maybe because it knows how we feel

Our thoughts become our words, habits, values and eventually our destinies, you know our thoughts on how we feel

Feels like one is on the tarmac of life, a little nudge, push and jolt could make one scream out what one really feels  

I've been viewing myself as a substance of lack luster for a couple of weeks, imagine how I feel

I've been asking myself when did this feeling get into me, disrupting how I feel

I've tried a lot of vices to curb, change and detour the thoughts on how I feel

Inspirational words, drinking, shopping, smoking non-stop and even having lots of sex to give a reason for how I feel

Non-have worked, still wake up in the morning and that voice reminds me of how I feel

Can’t believe this is real, never thought I could feel the way I feel

For a couple of weeks now, only the voice in my head knows how I feel

It’s been the main persecutor and comforter at the same time, maybe because it knows how I feel

My thoughts become my words, then habits, values eventually my destiny, you know my thoughts on how I feel

I've got to get my act right on, can’t falter, can’t give up and must proceed regardless of how I feel

Only the voice in my head knows how I feel

Only the voice in my head knows how I feel

Only the voice in my head knows how I feel

Only the voice in my head knows how I feel.

Signed

"SpeakingFromKupsy'sMind"

#WarOfWords2 The Difference by High On Word

The Difference by High On Word

Do you know the difference between me and you

It is not that I have money and you don’t

It is not that I have properties and you don’t

The difference between me and you

Is that I’m always happy and you’re not

I’m ever thankful but you don’t

I don’t complain but you do

You want to do everything to be rich

I do what I love and do it well

I always know I’m wealthy

I respect myself, do you?

The contrast between us is that

I want to help people but you always want people to help you

The similarity that does not exist between us is the fact that

I took time to get better, sharpening my strength

You went into the farm with blunt instrument

I don’t blame people for my troubles

Do you take responsibility for yours

Giving ache your ankle

But it is health to my bones

And air for my lungs

You think that money makes rich

But it is riches that brings money

Work hard, but always create time to think

Pray hard and believe what you prayed.

Value yourself

Don’t exchange your value for food

You are bigger than your stomach

Don’t exchange it for money

You are richer than your pockets

Your possession does not describe nor define you

You describe and define them

They are, because you are

Pay less time to your stomach’s hunger

Else, you will be bound to self

Don’t you know that you are a slave to that which

You pay attention to and

A servant to that which you look up to

You are more precious than gold

You are a god

More precious than silver

You are forever

Hello my friend

The distinction between a rich man and a poor one is

Awareness and Value

That is what I heard the rich man in my             

thoughts

Say to the poor man in my imaginations

Check out the video via this link

#WarOfWords2 The Difference by High On Word

http://youtu.be/Vo3krj5Id5g

#WarOfWords2 WHEN WE REALIZE by Ehiz d poet

This guy is good, 
deep words, 
nice flow, 
and passion is clearly evident.
He narrowly missed out on being one of the 15 finalist during War Of Words saeson 1.
Will he get lucky this time?
Well, if you ask me, 
I will say, me likey likey!!!


WHEN WE REALIZE by Ehiz Momodu aka Ehiz d poet

Won't it be funny?
To wake up some day and realize that humans with hands, and untamed thoughts
Have been dancing to rhythms of rat drums hovering round a circle of untidy definitions where we are like script-less antagonist armed with bitter memories of what we thought are bigger than all we are.
So we drunk our minds in anger and distance it from love of all kinds,
Paint the eyes in raging passions and pierce it thick into the racing heart of a fellow antagonist,
And with our own hands, we drag apart the earth
And masquerade the flesh of our falling comrades
Into an act of out of existence..
Then our dreams becomes hanging..
And soon dies like untold ferry tales
Like fantasies defeated when realities strikes to the fore
Then our heads turn into a grave host of undone dreams,
Of unmade songs, of UN-fought wars
And of voices of rusty ideas echoing dirges of regrets
Maybe when flood of reality swabs out the blind folds
And stop the music of rat race and rat lanes only for us 
to realize that the clock is helplessly holding its hands at very end,
Then we turn to drink the falling remains of uncouth songs,
Dream of moon and cooling blues
Sing dead blues and pretend cool,
Smile like fools and polish our noose
And watch hooks drain our seas into private pools of few
Leaving our skins black-dead like stolen blistered fishes
Maybe then we would cheap trade our every word
To buy incantations as the only way to travel peace down our dreams...
At least they would make one smile-and fold reality under the pillow to another dawn,
So they keep us dreaming and build island of dreams
In every of our sleep.-at day -dusk --or young dawns
And fuck the business of reality insane,
Deadlock the brains and tangle everything there is humans can do
Into expectation of miracle rain
And set sail to propaganda camps to add volumes to the chorusing chants of corrupt dames, 
seeking change from their nebulous plans.
But the truth however is, change isn't about dreaming all day long
It isn't about being a fan of those that sing shabby songs
It is about striking the rod into the heart of rocks to escape water for thirsty throats
It is the sword that slams against ivory shields to water tongues with victory songs
It is in the hands that craft dreams into reality..
It is about you being the change you want be.

Check out the video via the link below

#WarOfWords2 WHEN WE REALIZE by Ehiz d poet

http://youtu.be/hc94TiN0-9o

Word UP Volume 6: The Preview...!!!!!

#WarOfWords2 Blank mirror by J-Quill

Blank mirror by J-Quill

Scene 1,

Tell me about a honest

Impostor,.smiling greedily

In a Pose like;Sizwe banzi

I mean

Polished Smiles

Rehearsed speech

Perfected etiquettes

Standing untop of rovers

Waving hands and at the 

Right price?

My vote is yours

Scene 2 is like seeing 2000 

Gentlemen,queuing for a 

No-gentle man's job of a Driver

In a cement factory were only

One driver was needed anyway

Scene 3 unravels the mystery

As seen in cemetery

Marred visions of the

Allu victims

Aborted projects of corp members, caught up in flames

Or shredded in pieces yet

United in the phrase

"Mass burial"

Scene 4 is having four-seen a

Success,and amidst ur thrust

Tryna reach out tryna get it

Like a flash!,an unforeseen

Phrase from within

"Na man know man 

World we dey"

So scene 5 survives the 

Episode of the improvise me

Whose five senses realize that

The glued revolution I seek

Eludes sages revolution so

Even gazing @ d mirror,

I don't see me,absurdly

I can't see me but a missing

Figure of me in the mirror

You know why?

Cos the change I seek is not

The face I see in the mirror,

Its the inner-me in scene 1,

To scene 2 who don't neglect

Talent to sap for colar jobs

Or enbark on jungle justice

As seen in scene 3 so

When I see 

"chop mama thank you "

Peers on scene 4 as a poet,

I'll let my pen bleed out

To stupor I mean,

My zeal for change

Would be the urge to purge out

The me within so

When the 5 scenes co-relates My 5 senses,

Then and until then can I be

The change I seek!

Check out the video via this link

#WarOfWords2 Blank mirror by J-Quill

http://youtu.be/y9tC5z1-aiI

#WarOfWords2 WISHES ARE FANTASIES by OSIGWE BENJAMIN

WISHES ARE FANTASIES by OSIGWE BENJAMIN

We sell our trust to worthless buyers in exchanges for peanuts
We let them preach us decorated lies
For us to habour hope for the future blessings
They preach love but, hold on so tight to hatred in hearts
They preach change but join the Abiku race to inject us with pains 

Beggars from different kiosk quarters 
Scattered in streets, moving in tow 
Clattering plates with their un-toned songs 
To win attentions, just for daily arms 
And mummies line in death lanes 
Straining their weak voices for already crushed wealths 
That may not be revived if hands folds on 
With tight sealed lips

We lay our pains on titanic smiles merging sadness and happiness
Life and death 
For fear is gradually kissing us out of life 
We fix irony on words 
To make wounded hearts mild 
But we can't keep this ball of life rolling 
On self propounded lies. 
Wishes are dreams 
Be the change you seek!

I will preach it 
I will say it 
I won't wish it

Wishes are fantasies with wings 
Flying away out of sight 
With its betrayer's act 
Abandoning you to drag yourself back to reality 
And then hopelessness starts to parade in thoughts 
Leaving one to wish that he could not have sold himself

To his own minds eyes 
And here frustration befriends all static wishers 

I will preach it 
I will say it 
I will sing it like freedom songs 
But certainly I won't dream it 
For the income of illusions wishes 
Are the shovels of our dead bones to come 

Leaving the unburied dreams hanging 
For more of our kinds to come drink 
From glasses of pains and agonies 

Direct and guide your trust, they are gods 
And very priceless 
Start now to chant your war songs 
To be the change you seek 
For there is no way out 
Than we being the change we seek
Like Martin Luther King thought me to always remember 
That freedom can never be voluntaraly giving by the oppressors 
It must be demanded by the oppressed

Check out the video in the link below

#WarOfWords2 WISHES ARE FANTASIES by OSIGWE BENJAMIN

http://youtu.be/loNtfm0f3zg

Olulu on City Lace NTA 2 talking about Spoken Word Poetry in Nigeria

Spoken Word is a revival of an ancient African art form. 

It is words spoken with a rhythm not necessarily a beat and 

not necessarily rhyming. 

Spoken word has a through line, it is soulful, it can be fun and 

beautiful and definitely requires skill.

It is often compared to poetry.

Spoken Word Poetry is when emotions find thought and thoughts 

find words. 

#WarOfWords2 Whispers by Moses Ukam aka Youngflashy

Whispers by Moses Ukam aka Youngflashy

Hidden urge of secret identity discharged
Dripping like grandmothers licking roof. 
Resistance stabbed to bleed with two fingers poked into his nose to stop its breath,
Dis-countenance let rooms to gossip tenants,
Enthusiasm strangled by excuses,
Motivation slowly slaughtered by greed.
Pain caught in the act,
oh what have I done? It asked!
But later it said,
I was only doing my job to remind you,
you're still alive.

Incessantly enslaved by our orgasm 
Colonised by our itch-ness and tickles,
You never can tell when this virus has taken Over you like overdosed drugs
Can be lethal, you know? 
Trust me am the world strongest device in
Word created to oppose all words before or Next to me,
never to be a subject nor nether to my brother YES,my name is NO! 
See I live right in you but you don't use Me,
from the list you don't pay attention you're a debtor so you owe me. 
Yes! You're guilty am seeing you,
stop looking Around,
stop searching for a no me, I don't Exist, 
more like abstract am your
mindset on hind sight.

You can't find me in the corridors of
Power,not on newspaper or even in Grandmother soup pot.
See,you refused me in your hair Style, assent, smell, smiles, skin colour,
you're disgusting lie in disguise of truth. 
With just a tap from behind 
your thought went one step backward feeling the Irresistible smooth,soft and sweet 
Touches of my brother
YES I will instead of YES I do!. 
With such healthy procrastination 
Your truth loss weight to
Common sin instead of common sense.
Am not begging you but break up your Relationship with stagnant 
get divorce and Marry me cause am the right instinct for you
My name is CHANGE!,

I live in the street of your decisions,
I can't wait for you cause time is jealous.
My girlfriend nigeria cry all night begging to Return to my arms,
Locked up in the cage of
Freedom it's dangerous
Dating un-repentance just to
Keep your bed warm,madness! 
You know how much you need to
Get away with this repeating steps but yourself unforgiving wouldn't let you,
Gushing through the eyes of your thought, 
when will you loss grip on comfort for once? 
Watching pleasure laid in the coffin to be buried,
Remorseful goose bumps sparks
With had I known common
On the lips of your mind,
Compendium of dreams thwarted just to Rebuffed a drop of buzz.
See I am you!
Discover me cause am right within,
The change you seek,
It's an outfit, wear it!.

Check out the video here

#WarOfWords2 Whispers by Moses Ukam aka Youngflashy

http://youtu.be/15EYX0uZ9Ac

How to Win a Poetry Slam Competition.

How to Win a Poetry Slam

Poetry slams gained national prominence in the 1990s after originating in the mid-1980s at Chicago's Get Me High Lounge, USA. 

These contests, driven by judges and audience members, pit wordsmiths against each other in a competitive round of performance poetry. 

Poetry slams are boisterous events that sometimes incorporate elements of hip-hop rhythms and themes into the performances. 

Try these tips to win a poetry slam.

Instructions

1. • 
     
   • Perform like you mean it. Poets and poems bursting with vitality, anger and other strong emotions win high scores at poetry slams. A subdued or shaky performance won't cut it with slam judges or audiences.
   • Set your timer. Slam poets are judged on the length as well as the content of their performance. Poems three minutes or under are given the highest scores. Longer performances are penalized by half a point, up to three points for poems over four minutes.
   • Hone your skills. Try out a variety of poems, reciting everything in your arsenal, from confessional pieces and political commentary to angry rants and risqué humor. Give plenty of readings before participating in your first slam.
   • Engage your audience. Poetry slam audiences critique poets during the performance, not after. Heckling, foot stomping and booing are common if a poet is deemed unsatisfactory by the audience. If you handle hecklers with a witty phrase or comeback, you may win back the audience.
   • Make lots of friends in the poetry slam world. Get to know slam organizers and judges, and bring lots of your own friends to poetry slams. The more fans you have, the better chance you have of winning a slam, since the contests are based on audience and judge approval.
   
   

   Tips & Warnings

   • Do use poems that address oppression. Angry or socially conscious poems are popular at many poetry slams.
   • Don't use props or costumes at a poetry slam. They are forbidden by slam rules.

   
   
   Source:
   
   
   http://www.ehow.com/how_2060270_win-poetry-slam.html
   
   

SPEECHLESS by IBE CHIEMEZIE

SPEECHLESS by IBE CHIEMEZIE

Seventeenth October, two thousand and thirteen was the day

A day I felt was just  like every other one.

Although it was my birthday,

the last thing on my mind was celebration.

The original plan was to stay quietly indoors

and make no noise about it at all

But for my friends.

These people their love for me never ends.

They protested,

in fact they revolted.

They said to me, 'Young man, today is not just your birthday,

today is World's Chimex Day! "

On Demand, I stepped out of that closet of mine,

And they gave me a treat of a lifetime.

The deluge of messages I got,

to my eyes brought joyful tears so hard I fought

Some said I was cute , others said I was handsome,

some others said I was much more than awesome

But a tweet from the world famous Kelly Hansome

Made me feel like the biggest and brightest of the stars - the sun.

If love was drugs, I got overdose.

If love was alcohol, I was intoxicated.

If love was water, I got an ocean.

If love was a mountain, I stood on Everest.

Right now I sit back and reminisce,

Giving thanks to the one who's made my life a masterpiece.

The one who's blessed me with joy and bliss

And set my life on the path of increase

He is the King of Kings

The Lord of Lords and The Prince of Peace.

To my boss and mentor-Obyno

To my sister and second mother- Ijelo

To my superstar sibling and confidant- Chiso

This is a word of appreciation from your lil' bro- Emilo

To my God-given parents-Mummy and Daddy,

Nothing is what I am without your support

and the least I can say is, 'God bless you.'

To my cousins, I say 'Thank you.'

God's best gift to man is family,

and to have as part of mine, Sweetdiva and Chidi,

I count myself lucky.

As I drop my pen in the basket of love,

Knowing full well that by God and Man, I am loved,

the word of appreciation I want to give is endless,

But like Michael Jackson, I am SPEECHLESS.

by                              

IBE CHIEMEZIE

(Mex Konceptz)