Godwin Inyang's Blog

A ll around me, crops and trees richly bear fruits: P ears, corn, papayas, avocados and mangoes; R ain has returned to help water their roots; I n the farms, people work the ground with their hoes. L et’s learn from them – still time our dream seeds to sow.

  M arching gradually deep into the New Year: A ll resolutions kept or have you broken some? R ealign yourself if so but if a beam you wear C ause the right boot isn't on wrong foot worn - H old on tight and see your game this year is won.

I was ready to paint A sombre sky with rainbow But she spirited the brush away; I was ready to wet The drought-stricken land with rain But she steered the clouds off; I was ready to light The night with the moon But she blanketed it with her gloom. Beautiful bud, I'd waited this long for you To unfurl so I'd feast my eyes On your radiant petals And my nostrils on your scent But I just didn't know Flowers too have venom and fangs.

F all in, let us steer round to some robust economics: E very goal achieved has opportunity cost; B uilding empire means you'd take some dire risks; R ounding up time for something means time for others is lost. U nless you stop gallivanting, time would be scant; A dd discipline to yourself and every dream you'd realize; R aise the bar - shun things that to your goals aren't at a slant - Y eah, grabbing goals means to reckless fun you'd shut your eyes.

Whose majesty are the hefty trees Bowing to? No other but you, o wind! Elephant of space, You lift huge trees and throw them around Like seeds in a farmer’s palm. Jackhammer of God, You hit rocks and they tumble down. But when you come rummaging the jungle, Do not wreck our tent. Ah, we would be exposed, we’d be wet; Our treasure, mkpa uyo *, would be ruined! As for the bush-mango trees, Shake them like mother would shake a rag To get cockroaches out;   Shake them with your hefty arm, Shake them as if with a charm And do not let a fruit left on them For we’ve come miles upon miles, Abandoning the comforts of our homes For the harsh realities of a tent In the heart of the jungle Just for the treasure Buried in the bush mango’s core.   * MKPA UYO is bush-mango kernels extracted and cooked as delicacy in most parts of Nigeria. (The poem is taken from the collection, 'COLOURS OF LIFE, LOVE AND FAITH' which is available her...

J ust hang on till your dream does click. A ttack it with all your mind and might. N urture it with passion and care U ntil it hatches into reality's chick. A ccept failure but change not the dream you bear; R esolve to carry your very dream to light. Y ou surely success' lollipop would lick.

Writer’s block (as defined by the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary) is ‘a problem that writers sometimes have when they cannot think of what to write and have no new ideas.’ A firm that had been producing goods for public consumption which brought income to maintain the factory and pay the employees is not doing that anymore because of lack of raw materials. It’s either management would desperately look for where to get these resources so production would continue to keep the firm afloat or there is an imminent threat of a shutdown and that means the employees and management might lose their jobs. A writer running out of ideas is like an industry going bankrupt and panic would grip most workers’ minds. But panicking isn’t the solution to smashing, I mean, curing a writer’s block. Like the industry, a writer must do his or her best to get the raw materials (new ideas and experiences) that would imbue him or her with zest to keep writing. I’d say that writer’s block does not...