Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke They held on to each other Surging forward as if in a flight mode With only a foot per person on the ground The other leg thrown like a propeller And come I to think of their balance Being together gave them harmony Like roses clustered in medieval garden Clinging together gave them beauty The beauty of a conscious unity Alongside and with one another They soar higher and forward in joy. Note: I saw this piece of art while taking a walk in the little village of Hervelee, near a church building. I had to pause, … Continue reading Bonded

  Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke How did things come to fall apart in Umuofia? We thought that Mr. Brown was already learning a lot from Chief Akunna, such that he should have found a way of living peaceably with the people of Umuofia. Well, I think things started falling apart when Umuofia got a replacement for Mr. Brown; a new ‘Pharaoh’, a ‘Reverend’ who saw things differently, and was never prepared to listen to anybody or to learn from anybody. For this new missionary, nothing is to be compromised. It’s either you take it or you leave it! Christianity has to … Continue reading And Things Fell Apart

Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke Upon reading the wonderful piece, Theology Brewed in an African Pot, by the Nigerian Jesuit theologian, Orobator Agbonkhianmeghe, I was thrown back to the beautiful classic of Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart. I remembered how I had broken my annual ritual of reading Things Fall Apart once every year, because I have not been with my copy since almost 5 years now. The attempt to download a PDF hasn’t been successful. Thank God, I just ordered a new set of the Achebe trilogy. I pray it arrives soon before the summer winds up. Anyway, before we get too … Continue reading Remember the Umuofia debate

Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke “Amaka! Amaka!” It sounded like she was still in a dream. But with the slight pain that came from the slap on her thighs, Amaka knew it was time to finally open her eyes. Her mother has a way of waking her up whenever she oversleeps. Each ‘Amaka!’ came with a slap on the thigh. And so, Amaka has learnt how to keep it to the minimum. Twice is enough! When Amaka finally opened her eyes that Monday morning, her mind immediately went back to the harrowing experience of the other day. During the family morning prayer, Pastor … Continue reading Dosage of Trauma II

Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke On that fateful Sunday morning, under the embers of the sleepy sunlight, Amaka had thrown herself out of bed. She remembered how she had promised to honour Favour’s invitation to church. As a member of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, she had had some mixed feelings about not attending her normal Sunday worship at her local parish in a bid to appease Favour. “Anyway, I’m still going to worship the same God. Afterall, Favour had honoured my invitations severally in the past,” she rationalizes, having shrugged off her earlier rejection of the offer. However, she still kept … Continue reading Dosage of Trauma

Kelechi Ejikeme So many friends, yet no friend So many people I know, yet nobody I am all alone in my own big world Nobody cares after all. They should have sent messages and called They should have checked on me and visited How can they all be happy? How can they all smile? When I’m not happy, when I can’t smile Nobody cares after all. I do not want to open my eyes this morning I do not want to leave my bed today I do not want to eat and go out I just want to drift to … Continue reading Sound of silence