Welcome back to “What’s Up with Anuolu” This month is National Poetry Month. As a poet myself I feel like this month is very important to me to highlight both poetry and other amazing poetry around the city. This week I will talk about how I got started with poetry and how I fell in love with it. I will also end the column this week with a short poem of mine that is a reminder to keep going and stay patient.
The first introduction to poetry I remember was an assignment in middle school we had to memorize a poem. The poem that was given to me was “Still I Rise”. I would go home and study the poem, watch videos of her reading it, and repeatedly write it down. I digested the poem so much and just dived into Maya Angelou’s catalog. After that, I remember my teacher that year making poetry the focus of English and me spending that time writing as much poetry as I could. It was the first moment I remember falling in love with it and understanding that it is a beautiful language that has many forms.
When I entered high school, I was so worried about trying to be normal instead of nurturing my gift. So, I didn’t pick poetry back up until my second year of college. I took a creative writing course, and in most of the assignments, you would pick a genre of choice. The choices were poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and drama, I, of course, would always choose to complete my assignments using poetry. After that, I changed my major to Africana Studies with a focus on writing. I began to write poetry from that moment on. I began to perform any chance I could get at school. I also wrote over 300 poems in the first six months. With creative writing being my introduction, I was introduced to free verse. Which positionally changed my life. With free verse, you get to write any style anyway but with the structure. It became my favorite style. To keep my skill sharp, I still write following other forms free verse is just my personal favorite. While in college I was introduced to many amazing African American poets such as Nikki Giovanni, Gwendolyn Brooks, Phillis Wheatley, Audre Lorde and so many more. I learned that the depth you go in poetry represents the depths you’ll go in life.
To me, poetry does so many things. It can be a diary or could be your way of rewriting tragic life events and making them seem beautiful. Poetry to me is what paint is to a canvas. We need each other, the words and paper can evoke emotions that the reader can feel very connected to without ever knowing what they are going through. Being a Poet, I feel like we have the honor of truly understanding words and using them to our advantage. We don’t necessarily have to use proper language or punctuation our main job is to get the reader to feel. We are rappers without a beat. Spoken word on paper. That’s why I love poetry so much I get to release, share, and connect with so many people, as well as being exactly who I am and never have to know them personally.
Today I believe I have over 2000 written poems and over 300 written on my laptop. I came out with a poetry book in May of 2020, and I have a website www.anuoluwapobamiro.com where you can catch my new poems, I drop them every 2 weeks. So, one can say I picked poetry back up and never put it down.
And for people who know the struggle of being patient, this is for you
Patience, patience, patience
These days seem so long.
Yet the years fly by
Patience, patience, patience
Everything you dream of will come true.
The timing is perfect.
Patience, patience, patience
Know you the bomb and
God will never forsake you.
Patience, patience, patience
You’ve seen what rushing does.
So slow down and enjoy the Divine pace.
If you would like to keep up with me and my work, you can follow me on Instagram @anuoluwapobamiro and my poetry on Instagram @anuoluwrites.
