My heart weeps stinging tears
As the sun strolls through my path,
With strong, burning pleasure.

Gaping silence yawns in my soul
Thriving and fawning, keeping me mute,
Confused by a million voices

Deep within, only fear is left
It rapes my heart, it stills me,
Knocks me down with boldness!

But bravery peeps through
And whispers of hope to my dreams;
I hear echoes of the songs of joy.
…
Failure is not the end
when you fall!
Still believe in your dreams
when you fail!
And pursue to conquer
when you fall
Chase it, it is your destiny
though you fall!
Face it, till you overcome.
even if you fall!

POET OF THE WEEK: MOSES OPARA
Moses Opara is a young and deeply religious poet from Imo State in the Eastern part of Nigerian.

Opara’s poems are mostly prosaic with no particular preferred structure and his themes mostly explore the plight of the poor masses and how to make the society better place.

His experiences while growing up in the ghetto with a poor, widowed mother have largely influenced his poetry. Politics and religion have also been a major theme of his.

He could therefore be called a socialist poet.

Some of his poetry works have been featured in international anthologies, and he was awarded the Upcoming Poet of Year 2012 prize.

Apart from writing, Opara also expresses his creativity in the visual arts, standup comedy and in acting.

A graduate from the federal government college, Rubochi Opara aspires to pursue a full degree in Mass Communication soon.
He is currently based in the Federal capital Territory, Abuja.

EDITOR’S NOTE:
Mr. Moses Opara is a poet who will definitely go places. This is not just because his verses have flesh and bones, able to stand well, but also because he listens.

Most Nigerian poets believe they have attained perfection after a few ‘poems’ of theirs have appeared somewhere, but Mr. Opara is different.

He seeks to improve everyday and his favorite line “I salute in humility” has become a catch phrase on WRRPoetry and many other poetry forums he belongs to.