For Barack Obama, poems of love, hope

Olumide Sowunmi’s second poetry triology on President Barack Obama reveals how much the poet adores the United States leader.

Poem after poem, he highlights the broken barrier achieved as a result of the election of the first black man in American history.

In Amazing, the poet explains the joy that heralds the election of Obama after his victory at the polls in 2008.

“Tears of joy rolling down,

Falling like unending flood disaster

Resulting from a mighty over-angry rain

As the votes of the people

By the people, and for the people

Peeled the barricade of our barrier

Even the fainting sun could attest

Tears of victory

With this Obama victory.

Sowunmi’s poem, By Our Very Hands also explains the dream of African Americans which has come to fruition as a result of the emergence of Obama as the America’s first black president.

The poet also focuses on American’s love for their homeland, which he shares in his poem, Songs of Loyalty. Here, he says:

Songs of loyalty

Songs of Undying commitment

Are the lyrical content

Of pigeon, when all else is lost

Eyele’s love endures

A Call of Hope charges all political losers to work hand-in-hand with winners towards rebuilding their country. In the case of America, the poet charges defeated presidential candidates both in the 2008 and 2012 contest to join the winner, Barack Obama, in rebuilding America. The poem says:

To all losers, winners and others

Go not selfish

If motive is genuine

Politics of bitterness

Should have no abode in us

Get selfless service into you

Fall into government

To all losers and others

Do not stay stagnant

Do not go wasting

Play your part

Although the poem is intended for those who lost to Barack Obama during his presidential contests, it is, however, applicable to all politicians all over the country, as well as in Nigeria.

Here, the poet urges opposition politicians to work hand-in-hand with those in power towards repositioning their country.

Unfortunately, in a couple of months, Obama will cease being the US president after spending the mandatory two terms of eight years, the poet, however, believes that the election of Obama alone has broken the glass ceiling for other people of colour or minorities in the US to aspire to the top in whatever they do. It is, however, not only minorities in America that the poet is reaching out to, but to other disadvantaged people across the world. To him, Obama’s victory in American politics is a great lesson to everybody in the world that nothing is impossible to achieve. In fact, every other thing is easier to achieve than attaining the American presidency, which Obama has broken.