WITH a total of 24 poems, the 45-paged book, The River Flows In You, by Catherine Uhomoibhi will take the reader through all the emotions of love.
Written by the 17-year-old daughter of the former president of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) now Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Martin Uhomoibhi, there is a tapestry that connects the first poem from which the book derives its title, through My Last Song, which then closes with The Circle of Life.
Through the poems, the poet submits that beauty is formed when music, writing and love are allowed to work together. That, there is indeed a wonderful connection between these elements.
She said her collection was inspired by Yiruma’s piano composition as a tribute to the South Korean composer. Yiruma is a stage name of the internationally renowned pianist and composer.
According to the young lady, her inspiration was drawn from the showers of parental love and all helpful learning environments, which she was exposed to at the Layola Jesuit School in Abuja.
Like petals in a diamond ring, all 24 poems run like one intricate chain of personal experiencing of love and life. The anthology took its name from the very first poem -The River Flows in You, which sought to depict possibilities of the soul when fired by love.
The author says, each of her 24 poems are like a photograph, capturing different moments of what people call love. Even though you might disagree with her when for instance, she states in her opening page, “love is measured in moments and in feeling.”
So much to think about. In simple words poems such as Nanya’s Lullaby, Seasons in love, the ‘Inexpressibility’ of love A thousand Miles Away, Tellement, Love Eternal and Mirrors speaks volume of a pearls from a young heart.
Then come the others — My Last Song, Day in the sun, Before you go, Ava, Fallen, Forgotten Notes, Furlough, Glass Flower, Paperweight, Sweet Disposition, Why I write, Ese Osa, and The Circle of Life.
From the Poem-Day in the Sun for instance, we read.
A hundred fold of poppy-gold
And a couple newspaper clippings
The Scent of a story
That never gets old.
She’s still got glitter there
In corners and collars, near pink lips-and hair
‘You’ve got to try it
‘Cos that’s the secret of living life magic!’
Blunt knees and habits, he
Writes hours of ageless reveries
That fade on paper as tensed fingers waver
‘I’d be mundane any day, than misunderstood...
Little wonder then that when the book was publicly presented in Abuja, the leaders who made the presentation used the opportunity to spread the message of the rivers of love that could flow in Nigeria.
Listening as one poem dovetailed into another, they also sang for national unity, peace and progress.
Renown writer and literary critic Odia Ofeimun said of Catherine Uhomoibhi’s collection of poems: “Quite inspiring and a pointer to greater things to come.”
Riding on the wings of the depth given by book reviewer, Emmanuel Emasealu, Professor of Theatre Arts, University of Port Harcourt, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs minister while paying tributes, spoke about the pearls in the poems for Nigeria thus: “More than even before, today, there is the high need to understand our roles before one another as humans. Roles, which are assigned by the creator. They are required for us to appreciate the very life we live. I can link the title of the book to the river that flows through Nigeria, which we should all help to keep pure.”
Spurred on by the letters of the poems, Ashiru’s review comments went further: “The river has enough to offer us all. To those that are thirsty and are looking for water to drink, they can go to the river and have their fill. If you are apprehensive and looking for someone to give you care, go to the river, you will find some comfort... We can all take a cue from the Christian analogy that emphasises peaceful co-existence like inflowing grace and out flowing virtue, that you let them flow out to other people as you receive the grace. This is the message of the book for Nigeria today.”
Doing a critic that concurred with the reviewer’s submission, the Vice Chairman of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) in Benue State, Vershima Agema, chose to say: “The rivers of her verses flow with deep feelings in strong currents of love. Within the frame of many lines, you find notes that tell of a voice that is much like wine — among others, tasty in a way that is just its own and easy to drink from.”
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