Heritage Bank Poetry Competition is on – #LightTomorrowWithToday

To celebrate Children’s Banking Month, Heritage Bank is organizing a poetry competition for children, with fantastic prizes to be won.

Children (7-15 years old) will write a 200 words poem on “Light Tomorrow With Today” and upload on Facebook to generate likes from friends and family.

Make sure you tag @HeritageBank Ng when posting and use the hashtag #LightTomorrowWithToday.

Top 3 entries with the highest likes will be invited to the Head Office of Heritage Bank or any of its Experience Centers upcountry (i.e. for States far from Lagos) nearest to them (i.e. the winners) to receive their prize.

AN OPEN MESSAGE TO AFRICAN POETS BY MEMBIS GODWIN CHUKWUKAMMA.

Patriotism to irresponsible, dictatorial cum unpopular government is worse than mental and physical slavery meshed together with acute hopelessness.

A poet is expected to be the voice of the people and not romancing and painting the weaknesses of political leaders for social advantage.

Our old elites has failed us enough in governmental representation and now I am glad poetry which is the voice of humanity has come into the hands of young and zealous reformers.

African poets are leaving there responsibility of protecting the interest of the people with morality and are now protecting their own interest and that is poetic selfishness and abuse of poetic authority.

How can poetry change our world and bring the aspirations of our noble critic Matthew Arnold and all other world literary critics into reality with such run away from what should be? How can we all forget about criticism of what is wrong and unjust.

Figurative expressions in lines and stanzas is it poetry? The poetry lies on the theme, the quality and not just the beautification of expression, the poetry is eternal and shines on its own, we must separate fantasy from fallacy, truth from lies.

It is the responsibility of African Poets to build up the falling dignity and morality of this great continent our ancestors left on our shoulders. We are poet, we are the shade that protects the society, we are the hope of the next generation, inspiration to forthcoming art and we must inspire positively.

The dignity and flavour of African poetry must never be lost, we must restore our pride, and together we must change the world if we strongly believe by poetic creed that poetry can change the world, we must make it happen for it can not happen on it's own or with the falling development I am seeing.

I am Membis Godwin, a young fellow, I am not a critic but I believe in Matthew Arnold's poetic criticism and all other world class criticism on poetry, I believe in the future of world poetry, we must not let the philosophical content of poetry die, or the poetry that should be in the poem be lead to rest. We must restore it now.

ALL FOR HUMANITY.

IT IS ALL WRONG

It is all wrong

I could not spend time with you

It would have been easy

If you had told me goodbye

I sit and watch the sunrise

Maybe it would ease my mind

Instead I watch my dreams gone

As an awful day walk bye

I thought in life everyone is a winner

Except the woman who gives up

I know I do not have much to hold

Life is difficult watching you go

I cannot believe your love

Is too good enough for me

You have got to search the clouds in your heart

If there are no more stars

Without you my dream is not real

Where you are is where I want to be

If it is out on the street

It is alright, I can take the heat

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