IZUNNA OKAFOR
Love is a beautiful thing, and one of the best gifts ever given to mankind. If this is true, love, therefore deserves to be feted in a most special and memorable way, even in everyday of one’s lifetime.
It is in pursuance of this that a group of heterogeneous poets and poetry lovers identified with the need to give the 2023 Valentine Day celebration a poetic taste and fragrance, with a view to making it a
memorable one as well.
To actualise this view, each of these bards (ten in number) donated a tranche of poetic condiments, in
response to a call for stanzas made to that effect.
It is the compilation of these dulcet lines eulogizing the beauty of love, as was edited by Izunna Okafor,
that gave birth to this winsome collection —MY VAL, MY TONIC
In this 5th edition of this annual collection, these poets, not only manifest their poetic prowess, but also thematically register what love holds for them and their inamoratos in every sense of it.
They also explored the tools of poetry to portray love as a tunic upon which mankind survives.
Do have a lovely read.
Izunna Okafor
(The Editor)
CONTRIBUTORS:
Izunna Okafor
Rahman Conteh
John Chinaka Onyeche
Chisimdi George
Joel Oyeleke
Valentine Muoma
Nwokeabia, Ifeanyi John
Ifeyinwa Gertie Uzoka
Prince Ejike Agbata
Charity Uzoagba.
They write:
MY VAL, MY TONIC
Red! Red! Red!
Is the colour I see
The colour that reinvigorates the weak
And gives life than waters of the sea.
The day is the colour
My Val is the day
The colour is love
My Val, my tonic.
What is love?
But you, my Val
I’m drowned in this ocean.
Yes, I’m dwelling just fine.
My love is here to stay
My Val is here to reignite
Hold my hands tonight
Walk with me into your bosom.
I was once a nomad here
But your love found me
You brought me to its home
I am here to live, eternal.
With everything I have
With everything I own
With my whole heart
With you I am complete.
The light that brightens me.
My Val, my tonic
You blossom as rose.
As our bond flows like ocean.
This bond that rejuvenates my unloving self
And turns me into an addicted lover
Love is me chasing the clouds
And hoping to find your beauty in them.
Be my Val, my tonic for good health
This our love can be a thing
Not just for February fourteen
But for love’s beam.
My Val, my tonic
Your presence around me rejuvenates my soul
Even from a distance, I feel your warm presence
That is why I call you “yori yori nwa”.
Your loving smiles sweep me off my feet
Your simplicity and humility overwhelm me
You’re my lover, companion,
Encyclopedia, inspiration, gist mate
My intercessor, counselor and therapist.
When we are together, going out is needless
For you’re sure to provide all I need—
My entertainment, health tips intellectual counsel and lots more
Honey pie, you’re one in a million.
Let us share a of wine
You, on the left, and I, on the right
Hands held on same cup
Pour down our throats
The sweetness of our love
Gently, gently, until nothing is left.
Let us roll our ecstasy together into one warm embrace
One cemented soul shall we become in faultless manner.
My Sweet Valentine!
My all-in-all
Where you are, I’ll always be
No distance can separate us
With you, everyday’s Valentine
With you, I am complete
My Sweet Valentine!
I’m right behind you
I may not be physical though
But I’m filled with your aura
That suits me better
Like love in a manger
It’s Valentine
Do I get to feel your cherries?
Or even fill your belly
With fluids like a jelly
Oh my Valentine!
Oh! I can the cool breeze of love
Blowing softly on a king and queen
Sitting side by side in a lawn
Like birds set to fly forever in a bit
Oh! Fly me to another realm of this experience
I know this tonic is rich enough to sustain me
All through this journey of love
Oh, be with me forever
In you I have found a perpetual companion
Cuddle and hold me tight baby
As we journey together
In this beautiful realm of love
My love, my Val, my tonic.