By Yinka Fabowale
Paper Planes and Other Poems is a newly published poetry collection that celebrates and at the same time reflects upon variables of life and human existence, between the birth and exit of man from the surface of the earth.
In 20 luscious literary offerings spread over 54 pages, the poet, Sijibomi Juba, enthuses at the vivacity, wonder, fun and vitality of creation and living, as he laments their intrinsic contradictions, superficiality and vanity in extraordinarily touching musings that oscillate between introspective monologue and solemn conversation with the audience.
But, Juba does much more. With the thoughts he provokes and realities of human experience and interactions he depicts in his alluring lines, he teaches us courage to confront daunting challenges, inspires us to be the best we can be and offers the reader nuggets on how to understand and live a happy and fulfilled life!
In this collection, the bard examines man within the contexts of his spiritual, emotional, psychological and physical, social and political environments and how all these influence his fortunes in his journey of life. He submits that man is not always merely a helpless victim of his circumstances, but also a culpable instigator, enabler or collaborator who nevertheless could change situations by choosing and acting right. This message loudly resonates, for instance in ‘Blame’, in which the poet ascribes politicians’ perennial broken promises to voters’ collective gullibility, complacency and indulgence of similar acts of deception, cheating and exploitation common in the society.
In ‘My Heart is No Longer Here’, ‘Why They Leave’, ‘Two Friends’ and the title poem, ‘Paper Planes’, the author celebrates love and relationships, the warmth of home and hearth, of family bonds – the joy, support and affection shared among loved ones, even as he bemoans the pains of loss, separation, disappointment and betrayal when tragedy, human frailties or some unforeseen circumstances strike.
Paper Planes is a tribute to man in his roles as father, lover, husband, friend and head of his family who has to cater to the needs of every member. That the subject of the poem, ostensibly a deceased head of a family, acted his part well reflects in the fond memories of him captured in the doting mourner. The latter proves his tremendous love, respect and affection for the dead by making four paper planes – all which he crests in purple and black, each of which he flew differently marked – father, friend, dreamer and hero. These he flies high in the sky from sunrise of one day till the dusk of the next, standing in and defying the fierce rays of the sun. His appreciation of the loved one is more glaring in the elegiac tone of the concluding lines of the poem that run thus: “With misty gapes, I dared look, at the carcass that lay on the glacial ground/It could have been anything, anyone/But with the billion and more on earth, it chose me, my pater/So, till dawn fade, I shall make paper planes for this life of yours…”
Paper Planes aggregates, encompasses and subsumes the diverse themes explored in other poems including ‘Old Grey’, ‘Hope’, ‘Thirty Five Years’, ‘Gone’, ‘Memory Loss’, ‘Mirror’, ‘I have Risen’, ‘A’C and Winter’ and ‘Lizards’ – man’s responsibility, fate and the vicissitudes he confronts as he struggles from childhood through adulthood to old age, and the grave!
Juba shows how brief and ephemeral life could be, warning that men given to a hurried and harried lifestyle could easily miss enjoying the best it offers. This is well illustrated by the plight of the typical civil servant in the poem, ‘Thirty Five Years’. He spends years pushing files and filling the hours with idle, petty talks in a weather-beaten old suit only to suddenly find himself out of office upon clocking the mandatory retirement age!
In ‘Old Grey’, ‘Colour’, ‘Melanin’ the poet variously provokes contemplation and pricks humanity’s conscience with his epistemological exploration of natural phenomena, racial prejudices and aloof attitude of relations and neighbours, especially to old people only to show up at their funerals with cakes or victuals they denied them when alive.
Ringing through the beautiful lines is a tone of dare, courage, resilience, hope and determination to succeed in spite of odds. Juba demonstrates an uncanny sensitivity and insight contemplating simple, natural and everyday incidents, concepts and ideas. But, this is less comparable to his remarkable power of rendering them in both sweet and soft words that purr like kittens yet evoking lively images in this better-read-than-described literary work. It is another testament to Juba’s prowess as a creative writer and indicator of the Manchester United fan’s other passion as a zestful sports enthusiast!