By Jerome Olufemi
Poems to inspire you, Dr. Kaltume Akubo, Love Foundation, 2022
“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thoughts and the thoughts has found words,” says Robert Frost. In this collection entitled Poems to Inspire You, written by Dr. Kaltume Akubo, the poet attempts to uplift the spirit of the readers, depicting how one can get the best here on earth. Published by Love Foundation, the publishing arm of the Love Foundation charity organisation aimed at supporting indigent students, widows and the fatherless in Africa, the poetry collection contains 50 poems that plumb the depths of human nature through its belief, attitudes and behaviours, courage and desires.
From “Nature Grand Display” to “Everything Will Fall in Place”, Dr. Kaltume Akubo presents her magical poetic voice around the themes of motivation, encouragement, purpose, joy, love, and wonder. The 50 poems, which are extraordinary powerful and inspiring, include “Nature Grand Display”, “Believe in Yourself”, “Driving Change”, “Courage”, “The Power of a Dream”, “Ray of Hope”, “Get Up and Go”, “The Journey”, “Keep Going”, “Things Will Get Better”, “You Can”, “Like a River”, “Find the Strength”, “The Road”, “Endurance”, “Never Give Up”, “We all Have a Dream”, “Nothing Can Stop You”, “The Future”, “Be Yourself”, “Walk Forward”, “Strong is the Woman”, “Peace and Love”, “A Legacy”, “Live Purposefully”, “Imagination”, etcetera.
In “Nature’s Grand Display”, the poet seeks to open the minds of the readers that God has done well to create heaven and earth, as well as all things in it. Therefore, it’s high time we made use of them all to our benefit. It’s a free verse, one stanza and eleven lines poem, expressing the nature and wonders created by God: flowers, birds, trees, heaven and earth as well as humans.
“Nothing Can Stop You” shows that Dr. Kaltume Akubo deployed her poetic voice to inspire the minds of her readers that nothing can stop them from achieving their goals, aims or dreams. A free stanza, one verse eleven lines poem, it expresses the fact that there is no excuse to give up: “Like a child who starts to walk/ He might fall but keep getting up/ Same as you, don’t give up/ You’re going to show them all/ That you are made of high value/ And your worth is invaluable/ You are not just a mere/ And that nothing can stop you now.”
The poem, “Everything Will Fall in Place”, was explained by the life poet to open the eyes of the readers that it’s better to open up one’s heart, never lose determination. Face each day with determination, and never lose hope. At the end, everything will fall in place. The last two lines of the poem expressed the hunger of the poet to see people improving in all areas of their life.
The 50 beautiful poems in this collection, arranged tenderly and creatively captivating manner. The author can do well to express her thoughts in short stanzas for each poem instead of just a stanza and many lines per poem. Narrative form of poetry will do well to captivate the minds of the readers so as to understand the theme of the poem. Imagery explanatory forms (visuals, tactile and olfactory) should be used in subsequent books
One is inspired and wowed by the strong voice and choice of words of the poet. Dr. Kaltume Akubo’s Poems to Inspire You is a recommended handbook for everyone that’s on the path to finding motivation and encouragement in order to keep going.