The trials and hardships of Covid lockdown are all too recognisable in this satisfying volume of poetry by Tolu’ A. Akinyemi - the silence, the boredom, the stress and uncertainty. A narrative theme can be discerned throughout the verses; strained marriages, financial difficulties and loss - all recognisable fallout from the pandemic. Akinyemi also touches on the political consequences and “anti-vax” conspiracy theories. Not your average subjects for poetry, I grant you, but it all works.
Poems vary in length and effectiveness but one very powerful poem is entitled “F*ck - F*cking 2020” which begins -
“How do we scrub 2020 from our history books?
How do we f*ck it off
as a one-off?”
This is followed by a short declaration of intent called simply “F*ck 2020” which consists of just these two lines -
“Rollback the years, f*ck
twenty-twenty. Wipe out the
scars that blurred the year.”
Some of the best poems are short, brutal verbal assaults, while others are longer but no less bruising. “Passports” in particular resonated with me -
“My left arm carries so much weight
and immunity.”
Been there, done that.
As you would expect, several poems contain (and often repeat) the word “pandemic”. To my ears, this sounds like the least poetically versatile word ever. It is neither lyrical nor elegant; but maybe that’s the point. Sometimes it works, as in the case of “Stories” -
“Paint this pandemic what it was -
a sordid misadventure”
This doesn’t harm the poems themselves, but it becomes rather repetitive. But then I suppose we’re all sick of that particular word.
Nobody has ever published a book of poetry entirely filled with superb odes, but while this volume has its share of unsuccessful poems, there are enough to make it a worthwhile read. I think Akinyemi is a better poet when he’s angry. He cuts very close to the bone at times and the world of lockdown he evokes will be painfully familiar to everyone. These poems are a worthy and satisfying record of one of the hardest years in human history.
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