Akor Agada Nathaniel has emerged the winner of the June 2019 edition of the monthly Brigitte Poirson Poetry Contest (BPPC) for young writers which was themed ‘VISION 2050’.
Akor is a poet and Economics student of Benue State University (BSU) Makurdi who is passionate about creative writing. Akor had previously won the BPPC, in June 2018, and his poems Solitude Is a Woman and The Good Samaritan were shortlisted for the March and April 2018 editions of the contest.
The winning poem, a 24-line rhymed piece titled A Child of Several Incarnations examined the poet’s disappointment after observing a future built upon today’s lies and corruption and technological misadventures. Jonathan Endurance’ IN THE DREAM, I AM THREE DECADES OLDER and QUEST by Nnanyelugo Michelle Chiamaka emerged first and second runner-ups respectively.
Below is the winning poem:
‘A CHILD OF SEVERAL INCARNATIONS’ by Akor Agada Nathaniel
With robots running the shots, where else should one go?
I never thought I would see myself here three decades ago,
Competing with little children whose skins look like ripened mango,
Exuding egregious confidence that easily erodes an elder’s ego!
Twenty Fifty came from somewhere like a ball of snow
Holding the singing water harboring stubborn seeds of deep-rooted sorrow
To be planted in the soil of an unknown tomorrow
By the children of men whose minds never lie fallow.
The evolving earth has always been a child of several incarnations
Climbing on the shoulders of wise men who have misread the constellations.
In today’s situation, yesterday’s visions have now become tomorrow’s projections
As generation after generation compounded issues from technological innovations.
I choose to break the ears of the winds with my complaints.
The corruption of passion has eaten this era amidst countless restraints,
Converting champions to crying children chasing camels with feet that faint,
Because today’s world has succeeded in making sinners out of strong saints.
The inventions I see are variations of awoken scars
Owned by yester year’s shadows shipping silent sandstorms from afar,
Fermenting fragments of frustrations from the smiling stars
In today’s bruised world gasping for breath like a broken car.
How I wish the seers who saw today were here
To touch the monuments they built with their mouths that never were!
Maybe some survived the grinning yesterday, but are maimed with fear
And have lost the will to chase the charming deer ...
READ ALL THE TOP 30 POEMS IN “VISION 2050” CHAPBOOK. DOWNLOAD BELOW:
Eze will be awarded the N8000 prize money and, alongside the other TOP 10 finalists from February to September 2019, will be automatically entered for the 2019 ALBERT JUNGERS POETRY PRIZE (AJPP) in addition to receiving a certificate and a copy of the BPPC 2019 anthology at the Words Rhymes & Rhythm Literary Festival 2018. All the top 10 poems for the 2019 Season will be published in the BPPC 2019 anthology while the top 30 poems are featured in “RAGE” chapbook. The finalists will also each receive certificates at the Words Rhymes & Rhythm Literary Festival held in December every year.
CLICK HERE TO ENTER FOR THE JULY 2019 EDITION
The BRIGITTE POIRSON POETRY CONTEST, a brainchild of Words Rhymes & Rhythm (WRR), is a monthly writing contest aimed at rewarding the under-appreciated talent of young Nigerian poets. It was instituted in February 2015 in honor of Brigitte Poirson, a French poet and lecturer, editor, who has over the years worked assiduously to promote and support African poetry. Now in its third season as one of the few credible contests for poets, the BPPC has since grown to be one of country’s most popular, especially among the younger poets.
