S P L I N T E R I N G In Splintering Silence, Philo Ikonya takes us to the source of S her strength and power. Her poems rise from a gamut of IL E experiences and thoughts, her philosophy and vision. In this N C amazing collection, soulful, reflective and introspective the E poet searches with us even into her own name. The one she was given by her ancestors and the ones she is called by. She says darkness is visible in light but both are us and therefore we must reach for the ‘I’ and surprise ourselves hailing ourself: Hello Darkness My Old Friend! This book is a celebration of the resilience of spirit and a constant loving compassion for the love of humanity. Philo Ikonya connects with activism and change in practical ways and liberating thoughts. PHILO IKONYA lives in exile in Norway. She has published two anthologies: Out of Prison - Love Songs (2010 Löcker, Vienna) a P h bilingual book in German and English and This Bread of Peace i l o (2010, Lapwing, Belfast). These are beautifully written powerful I k poems. Like her other collections of poetry, Splintering Silence on y resounds with the energy of the poet’s insight. a Langaa Research & Publishing Common Initiative Group P.O. Box 902 Mankon Bamenda SPLINTERING SILENCE North West Region Cameroon Philo Ikonya SPLINTERING SILENCES Philo Ikonya Langaa Research & Publishing CIG Mankon, Bamenda PPublisher: Langaa RPCIG Langaa Research & Publishing Common Initiative Group P.O. Box 902 Mankon Bamenda North West Region Cameroon [email protected] www.langaa-rpcig.net Distributed in and outside N. America by African Books Collective [email protected] www.africanbookcollective.com ISBN: 9956-791-23-7 © Philo Ikonya 2014 Cover Image by Dr. Helmuth A. Niederle DISCLAIMER All views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Langaa RPCIG. Dedication My only child Yusufu I will always love you About This Collection Philo Ikonya has published two anthologies: Out of Prison - Love Songs (2010 Löcker, Vienna) a bilingual book in German and English and This Bread of Peace (2010, Lapwing, Belfast). These are beautifully written powerful poems. They are full of the energy of the poet’s insight. In Splintering Silence, the poet takes us to the source of her strength and power. Her poems rise from a gamut of experiences and thoughts, her philosophy and vision. Poetically, Philo who lives in exile in Norway, explains her journeys. She travels from a rich garden inside her to unravel her ability and versatility. She has her own Alphabet there. She is not confined to any one Geographical space. She cannot be and so the silence splinters in the planets, orbits and a globe that is open to her. These journeys are physical as such places like Juba in South Sudan, Oslo in Norway and Harare in Zimbabwe inspire her poems published here, but they are also psychological. Three poems: I count my bones, I count my Children´s bones and I cannot count his bones traverse the book and in this last one the activist arises with her answer to greed. The family is the nation and is compared to it and a society suffering the ills of oppression and humiliation where women and children's bones stick out and can be counted as the men's are covered with soft flesh. No forms of oppression whether from domestic or other imperialistic tendencies are okayed. Polygamy and men who only look after their bellies will not stand in her way. So many sounds, but the sound of silence is the most powerful. The poet is inspired by the unparalleled song, The Sound of Silence, by Simon and Garfunkel. She calls it one of the greatest and most mysterious poems of all times. The writer's soul expands and feels compassion in her meditation of the lyrics of that song crafted soon after the shooting of JF Kennedy in 1963. Philo takes us to those not so prominent who suffer as in the poem Bow and Pray which is about the one who bleeds in silence in the poem. She says, silence that makes sense must be probed by the I, by oneself through a daring and loving introspection for change begins with one. But the result must be shared: ‘Take my words that I might reach you’ and the result is not certain and therefore the agony of the poet. In this amazing collection, soulful, reflective and introspective the poet searches with us even into her own name. The one she was given by her ancestors and the ones she is called by. She says darkness is visible in light but both are us and therefore we must reach for the ‘I’ and surprise ourselves hailing yourself: Hello Darkness My Old Friend! This book is a celebration of the resilience of spirit and a constant loving compassion for the love of humanity. The poet connects with activism and change in practical ways and liberating thoughts. Table of Contents Splinters………………………………………………... 1 Light…………………………………………………….. 3 Sound…………………………………………………… 6 Traversing………………………………………………. 8 Pledge…………………………………………………... 11 Striving………………………………………………….. 14 Exile……………………………………………………. 16 You……………………………………………………... 19 Wake Oslo up again……………………………………. 21 Dafuri huts by Akerselva……………………………….. 23 Storm that touches sound………………………………. 25 My Name……………………………………………….. 28 Hovering………………………………………………... 34 Sparks………………………………………………….. 37 The Split………………………………………………... 39 Samosa…………………………………………………. 40 The Nile in Juba………………………………………… 41 Arm…………………………………………………….. 44 Cobblestones…………………………………………… 47 Bow and pray now……………………………………… 49 I count my child’s ribs………………………………….. 51 Labour pains for a continent……………………………. 53 Places in us…………………………………………….. 55 Sounds voices share……………………………………. 56 Here and there…………………………………………... 58 Silent sound dance………………………………………59 Oslo for once wriggles in heat………………………….. 60 Rich ways………………………………………………. 62 Juba-man-o'-war………………………………………… 65 vii Mother………………………………………………….. 69 Flying………………………………………………….. 71 Word……………………………………………………. 73 Flight……………………………………………………. 74 If I could………………………………………………... 76 Leaving Juba……………………………………………. 79 Diplomatic happy hour…………………………………. 81 Sunrise for Roma……………………………………….. 84 I count my ribs…………………………………………. 86 Allah Akhbar…………………………………………… 88 Beauty…………………………………………………... 90 High……………………………………………………. 91 Stereo plays…………………………………………….. 92 Wash me………………………………………………... 94 Rage……………………………………………………. 97 So betrayed……………………………………………... 99 Fresh……………………………………………………. 103 Never seen my body……………………………………. 104 Gu’nai…………………………………………………... 105 Refuge…………………………………………………... 107 A Saturday sunrise………………………………………. 109 Christiania home……………………………………….. 112 Nautical smiles………………………………………….. 114 Nairobi soils…………………………………………….. 116 Bouquet………………………………………………… 118 Morning unfolds for some………………………………. 121 I cannot count his ribs………………………………….. 123 Fragrances………………………………………………. 128 Warrant of arrest………………………………………... 129 viii SPLINTERS 1