A poem is not enough to make her fall in love with you, me dear Ikakke. I see you Ikakke, the great poet of our generation, the young man with the deep lines and verses. Ikakke, I can see beyond your veneer of confidence and authority, I can see into your heart.
Was it not on a Saturday evening at the Uyo book club reading session some moons ago that you walked up to the consummate poet, quintessential gentleman and Medical doctor, Dr Martin Akpan and requested his help with some poetry lines?
You said to him, “Good evening Dr, I have read all your books, I am a follower of yours, please I need your opinion on a poem that I am writing for someone”
“Okay, how can I help you?” Dr Martin responded.
“It is a love poem for a young lady that I have fallen in love with. I have discovered that she loves poetry, so I want to woo her with my lines”.
Dr Martin laughed and you thought he was going to dismiss you but he asked you to read the poem to him.
You opened the poem on your phone and read:
“Oh my dear maiden
I have fallen in love with your beautiful eyes
Permit me to be your Prince Charming
If you say No my dear maiden
I will wallow in Myocardial infarction”
Ikakke, after you read your poem, you quickly asked him,
“Please Sir, which line is the best to use? Should I say?
‘Your beautiful eyes, dear maiden, for love of, fallen I am’
or
‘For the love of your beautiful eyes, I have fallen, dear maiden’
or
‘fallen I have dear maiden, for love of your beautiful eyes’“.
“Well, just use simple words, keep your poem short and simple” The Poet replied and probed further, “Does she know the meaning of myocardial infarction?”
“Yes, she does. She is a medical student and knows that myocardial infarction is a heart attack”. You stated.
“Okay, I wish you luck,” Dr Martin replied with an amused smile and walked away.
Ikakke, you spent the night polishing your poem and using your best handwriting to scribble the lines on a plain sheet of paper. Then you went to bed, dreaming about you and your love interest in paradise.
The next morning, you spotted her at Ikpa road roundabout, walking towards the gate of the University of Uyo. Your heart skipped a beat as you realized that it was time to present the poem to her.
Ikakke, you called out to her with a nervous voice.
“Hello, Excuse me!”
She seemed not to have heard you as she kept moving, cat walking like a superstar model on a runway in Paris. She seemed to be doing the ground a favour by stepping on it. You cleared your throat and called out again.
“Hello, excuse me!”
She turned around and stared suspiciously at you. Her beauty was mesmerizing and for a moment you were lost in another world.
“Err…Good morning, My name is Ikakke and I have a poem for you,” You said as you held out a white envelope to her.
“Poem? Why? How come?” She interrogated.
“Please just read it, it’s from me to you” You replied with a coy smile.
She took the envelope from you and opened it. She held out the sheet of paper, unfolded it and read it. Ikakke, your heart beat furiously and time seemed to have stood still.
The young lady laughed heartily and glanced at you. Then she shook her head and said,
“Thank you for the poem but I am not interested!”
She handed the envelope back to you and sashayed away.
Oh, Ikakke, that moment your spirit went down to its nadir, you felt like a chicken drowned in water. You walked away with a despondent look on your face.
Right from that day, you told everyone around that you have quit writing poetry.
“I am no longer a poet!” You announced.
My dear Ikakke, don’t stop writing poetry, you need to harness your craft. You need to understand that a poem is not enough to make her fall in love with you. The young damsels and maidens of this generation want something more than words. Ikakke, you need to be successful at your craft and field of endeavour. You need to make money, then your poetry lines would sound like music in the ears of the beautiful maidens and you will be flooded with love poems from the damsels of this generation.
I hope to see you soon, Ikakke, the great poet of our generation.
Iniobong Leroi Umoh is a storyteller, a satirist and creative writer. He blurs the line between reality and fiction and seeks to create a connection with the reader through engaging content. His works have been featured across various online and offline platforms. He hopes to one day travel around the world on a luxury yacht, sipping expensive wine and documenting all his experiences in a journal.
You can send him a mail at infoleric@gmail.com.