You are not Alone

Michael Robinson (right) and fellow contributor Joan Beebe

Sitting beside you, watching you sleep,

Brings found memories of my childhood,

You watched me sleep, in the dresser drawer on a pillow,

You watched me cry, as I was teething.

All the little things you turned into love,

I watch you sleep, as I sit looking out the window.

It’s summer and the breeze are cool,

Remembering you taken my hand.

Now I take you hand and hold it close to my heart,

As I watch you sleep for the last time.

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The titular poem in Amlanyjoti Goswami’s River Wedding prepares us right away for the unexpected. The ‘wedding’ in question is not of a couple getting married outdoors, but of rivers themselves gathering in a great celebratory storm, at once spectacular and threatening.

Movement, whether of rivers or human beings, propels the collection forward. Journeys and travels, arrivals and departures, frequently serve as motifs. Images of airplanes, trains and terminals intersperse the pages of River Wedding, from the concrete aesthetic pieces such as ‘Terminal 3’ to intriguing juxtapositions in free verse, including ‘Reading Tibetan on the London Tube.’ Several affectionate pieces illustrate intergenerational family love, where elders share their caring wishes for younger family members, and, through them, journey through time as well as space.

Goswami’s work reflects a cosmopolitan awareness of a large world. Pieces take place in Indian cities and towns, a Caribbean beach, the London subway, and Washington, D.C. at night, where teens shoot hoops and those of all ages and backgrounds ride the bus home. In one piece, he highlights and laments the fear created internationally by racist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, through a speaker who feels hunted even from miles away.

Yet he can write as evocatively about domestic scenes, as he does in ‘Two Sisters’ and ‘Lunch,’ as sensitively and directly as about his speakers’ meanderings or pensive abstract musings.

His language is conversational but never rambling or confessional, with a reserve that comes from intentionally chosen words. He brings in academic language when it adds to the subject and the flavor of a piece, when he talks of Matthew Arnold, ancient Tibetan books, or philosophy, yet never becomes abstruse for the sake of it.

He splashes in a dose of humor, in pieces such as ‘The Philosopher Meets his Match’ and plays with language and the arrangement of words on the page, as in ‘Leaving the Building’ and ‘Terminal 3.’

Yet, his greatest strength comes from the personal, affectionate poems, such as the tribute to the grandmother, ‘Aabu,’ written in her voice, which he can carry off with a gentle reserve that suggests deep feeling.

 Amlanjyoti Goswami’s River Wedding is available here. 

This essay is a monthly series on ‘common deceptions people believe about relationships’ from author Chimezie Ihekuna.

Another work from Chimezie, a play entitled ‘The Success Story,’ has been serialized previously in Synchronized Chaos and is now published and available here. 

Chimezie Ihekuna

Deception 5

When there is money, it will be safe to get married

In other words, when money is absent, there is no marital safety. Is it? If money is a criterion for marriage, how long do you think you can make it to make possible marriage? Do you want to be the oldest man in the whole world before you get married just because of the need to make available money?

The answers to these questions have unequivocally prompted young men and women into realizing ‘fast money’ using cut corner and illegitimate means. The results are obviously very obnoxious, most of all, a resulting sudden death.

In most cases, this issue is rampant amongst young men who will go at length to see that the much-needed money is made in order to ensure marital safety. Unfortunately, it is just the mirage expression of what it really means.

Imagine a situation where a man lays the foundation of his building on a sandy platform, anticipating it to lift the building’s load equivalent to that of a skyscraper. The building will in no time be in shambles! The analogy is akin to individuals who lay the foundation of their marriage on primarily money in anticipation that it would withstand the ‘loads’ of sexual gratification,  effective communication, physical, mental and material satisfaction. As a matter fact, assertions such as” we need money to fulfill our marital desire,” “money is the most important thing in marriage” and so on are used philosophically by men who monetize their marital foundation. By extensive inference, the issue of money has undoubtedly ‘forced’ responsible and prospect-driven women into marrying men who are of a perfectly incompatible character, no thanks to the parochial thoughts and intents of money dynamics. Consider this true life story;

Lizzy, a close-door neighbor of mine, has been married to Andrew for close to a decade. Situations made her confide in me her topmost “top secrets”. One of the secret would have to be unearthed for the world to see. After all, there is nothing hidden under the sun. However, I cease this platform to apologize to you, Lizzy. Please forgive me! In her words, she said: “I got entangled in this inescapable dungeon, marriage because I was pushed into marrying this rich infidel. Granted, he helped finance most of my pursuits in life (academics inclusive), he didn’t have what it takes to be a good husband

Before I met my present husband, I had been in a relationship with my childhood friend, John.  Though John wasn’t financially capable to carter for me, he had a good prospect and was sound in all areas of like I could (at the time) recognize.   Peers family pressure and impatience on my part made me to settle down with Andrew who was financially more stable.   Now, as I speak to you, I’m in the abyss of marital misfortune as he is self-centered, uncaring, and unfaithful and displays a non-chalant altitude towards me.  Without any skepticism, I utterly regret why I made this decision” “what a pity” I must say.

At this point, a clarion call has to be made: the earlier we recognize and believe look, me and sinker the fact that money is a used tool for communication instead of the generally constructed implicit communication master, the better our relationships would be.  Tell me, how can someone who has nurtured to be a servant all his life suddenly become a master?   This was the intended functions money; a good servant or communication tool.     Else, it would be an ugly master, if given topmost priority.

Paper money was introduced to the world in 1919.   Economists have asserted that the most outstanding quality of money is that it is a means, the term MONEY simply Means (or Medium) Of (inter) National Exchange (for) yields simply, money is a medium of local international exchange for other goods and services, gains. You can see the reason money was primary designed.

“What should be the correction of this deception “? A clever question! It would be an answered by you through the clue-like questions. “What would make you sell your most prized possessions to raise funds to resuscitate your dying mother at the hospital? What would make an individual take the place of his friend at the time of death? What would make a woman abandon her family of a well-to-do background and settle for a man who can barely eke a living?” The answers are just one …

It is a virtue which must be bedrock for any successful marriage. Precisely, it is the foundation which can withstand the ‘forceful burdens’ of marital setbacks and make concrete the convenience of marriage. Similar to a man who laid his foundation on a rocky platform; it is the worth that would ensure an Enduring blissful and beneficial marriage, if embraced.  Can a man-made creation such as money be the bedrock of an eternity-in-life marriage? If yes, what happens if a setback such as financial downturn emerges?   Obviously, the ‘virtue’, a God-defined name, is an eternity-based recognition, serving as bedrock to a life-long marriage.  After all, you cannot lay the foundation of a bungalow building anticipating it to withstand a load tantamount to a skyscraper.

Money can run errands but lacks the verity to send errand .this should be the simple view point of people.   In a marriage, the transient nature of money makes it a flop-noticed master when prioritized.  Put simply, it can never be a good foundation.  However, it should be seen as the communicative tool or arguably a faithful servant that (with proper instruction) will run the errands and successful marriage.   On the other hand, the virtue should be viewed as on the concrete foundation which is a commensurate to eternity-on-earth marriage.  It is to be reckon with in terms of its ability to withstand marital challenges through painstaking sacrifices.     What is that ‘virtue’?  A question you may want to ask. The very answer is true love;

It does not mean that money is not essential for marriage rather, it is a communicative tool or with proper sagacity, a faithful servant of True love.  Realistically, it is the foundation of all long lasting marriage that have ever existed in the world from the medieval to our contemporary era.

Therefore, true love should precede money. After all, who is the servant without his master and how can a master not need the service of his servant for errands to be sent, carrying out instructions and so on? With true love on your side, the mutual co-operation between you and your spouse will birth an idea that will produce immense wealth and make the marriage interesting.   Hence, it is right saying: “with true love it will save to get married”

About Chimezie Ihekuna: 

Following the words of the great Greek philosopher, Socrates, ‘Employ your time by improving with other men’s writings so that you can gain easily what others labored hard for’, Mr. Ben, as he is fondly called, published author, essayist, poet, speaker and voice-over artiste is poised to impact humanity in all spheres of life and human recognition. With his knowledge zenith, he is willing to disseminate valued and ageless information to all interested persons, groups and organizations-what he toiled to gain over the years.

To depict this feat, he has written over twenty breath-taking masterpieces that cut across almost very literary category to help improve the cause, shape and existence of humanity; sexuality, business anecdotes, science, home affairs, marriage, relationships, friendship, self-help, gender issues, life matters, motivational and inspirational interests, educational/academic matters and many more…He is still counting! To his credit, he has written over forty timeless articles on the various literary categories; showcased on www.ezinearticles.com, www.articlebase.com, www.searchwarp.com, www.triond.com and other affiliate sites.

His amazing writing skills, novel concepts, creative works and avid reading and communication skills have earned him a recognized membership with the following international affiliations; www.christianwriters.com, www.associationofaspiringauthors.com, www.writerface.com and other known writers’ organizations. No doubt, he is not only a writer with a difference but also an entrepreneur, investor and a philanthropist whose slogan reads ‘service to God and humanity are paramount’.

Based in Lagos, Nigeria, Ben currently runs an E-retail outfit known as Hub Of All Enterprises (www.mybookpublications.wordpress.com). He loves reading, communicating, meeting people, writing, listening to music and singing, watching classic movies and playing football.

Dominique Valarcher teeters between extremes, always somewhere in the middle. The professor protagonist of Denis Emorine’s literary novella Death at Half-Mast, he carries a name that in his native France is gender-ambiguous. His mother’s first husband had hoped to have a daughter with her before dying in a concentration camp, and would have given her that name. This leaves Dominique with the idea that he has two ‘fathers’, his actual father and the man who gave him his name.

Hence, he exists simultaneously in two realities, a theme that organizes and propels the novel.  At the beginning, Valarcher reflects that his children are the same age that he and his wife Laetitia were when they met. He positions Nora, the young student who admires him and writes a thesis concerning his work, into a duality as well. She reminds him of the deceased Russian actress Tatiana Samoilova, persecuted and driven to despair by the Stalinist regime. This resemblance repeats and reinforces the motif of tragedy, oppression, and the loss of what might have been, in a somewhat mythical past that enters Valarcher’s life when he discovers his name’s origin. Even when love, study or attraction keeps it at half-mast, death is still present.

Much of the story revolves around Dominique’s internal life. He thinks of and relates to others in ways that stem from the role they play in the mental narrative he constructs for and about himself, rather than observing them as distinct people in their own right. He laments his daughters’ lack of interest in his literary writing. He thinks of his blood father, who raised him, as an interloper. He remembers a passionate night with his wife after she returned from being away somewhere with great nostalgia – along with the fact that he never asked where she’d gone.

Most notably, he agonizes over whether to leave Laetitia for Nora, which he sees as a traumatic moral decision he must make, before he receives any clear indication from Nora that she cares for him beyond friendship. He shows some self-awareness when he observes a male student looking displeased at his interactions with the young student. When it occurs to Valarcher that the young man might be Nora’s boyfriend, it occurs to him that he knows almost nothing about her.

Death at Half-Mast ends before Valarcher makes any sort of decision, leaving him face-down on the couch at his friend’s country retreat. This ending shows that the story isn’t so much about what he decides but about who he is.

Firmly ensconced within French and Hungarian universities, all the novel’s characters meet each other and continue to interact within the academic environment. The book’s language, however, is readable and the plot relatively straightforward, accessible to all those who wish to probe the travails of a man caught between shifting realities.

Death at Half-Mast by Denis Emorine is available here. 

Presence of Absence by Pete Moorhouse (http://www.petemoorhouse.co.uk/)

First of all, here’s an announcement about one of our regular contributors! 

Dave Douglas’ Invisible Ink

Dave Douglas has released a new collection ‘Invisible Ink’ full of new poems.

To those who are trapped in their human shells, here is a collection of poems about struggle, questions and restoration. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RWWVQ2S/

This month’s theme is Presence/Absence. What does it mean to exist, to belong, to take your turn at existence and leave a mark, or not?

Sometimes absence can be the most ‘visible’ element of a scene, as in Daniel De Culla’s poem and accompanying photo of an empty chair.

This sentiment is echoed in Jaylan Salah’s tribute to the late poet Kevin Killian, where the loss of the writer sparks a retrospective examination of his life and work. Killian was unafraid to insert himself into the narrative of his poetry and prose, to make himself become forcefully present.

In a kind of contrast, Mark Young’s speakers withdraw to the background, relating non-linear information rather than personal narrative. Young’s work doesn’t always make linear sense, doesn’t create a speaker we can visualize, yet the lines of thought still flow, with the coherent rhythm and feel of an instruction manual. This suggests that it’s the ideas, or the ideas about the ideas, that matter over time, perhaps even more so than a particular person.

Molly Gaudry’s poetry collection Desire: A Haunting, reviewed by Cristina Deptula, presents a story of grief and memory, healing and absolution, before and mostly after, death.

Cristina Deptula also reviews San Francisco State University’s Department of Biological Sciences’ annual Personalized Medicine conference. The day’s presentations covered new laboratory developments in treating the causes of age-related health problems, as well as ways to address the care needs of the aging population in many countries.  A major focus was increasing healthspan, the portion of one’s life when one’s healthy enough to show up and participate in normal life activities.

In Joan Beebe’s poem, ‘A Father’s Love,‘ a father and his disabled daughter fully show up for life together, completely present for each other because of their love. She also celebrates love for country in her July 4th Independence Day poem.

Roozario Wiggins illustrates the beauty and strength of a young girls’ basketball team on a Native American reservation in the U.S. who, in part due to his coaching, have risen to the occasion to show up for each other.

Chimezie Ihekuna shares an essay that outlines his interpersonal, sexual morality, centered on committed relationships rather than short-term encounters.

Some contributors’ pieces look at the ‘absence’ of some from society.Jaylan Salah analyzes how the sci-fi film Blade Runner metaphorically illuminates the ways sexism, racism, and classism and other prejudices cause real harm to people in cities such as Los Angeles. Rather than a city where everyone is beautiful and happy with the help of technology/plastic surgery, it’s a place where only a few are able to live that life while the rest end up unnoticed, listening to the radio alone in their cars.

In his nostalgic poetry, John Doyle writes of those who keep up with fashion and music, and of those who never quite connect with their times.

Judith Borenin sends us poems of beauty but also elements of decay and loss: a disheveled homeless man, destructive wildfires, fellow drivers grieving private tragedies in their cars. 

Christopher Bernard gives us a sci-fi piece that presents a larger-scale look at change and decay: that of our entire planet, rendered uninhabitable by climate disruption. In this case we as a species have ‘excluded’ other species and the planet itself from our sense of who matters when we make decisions.

In contrast, Gloria Lopez’ piece describes the renewing power of a walk around a local lake, the joy of connecting with and noticing nature.

Mahbub’s poetry explores the different aspects of natural phenomena and human-made objects that have become natural to us, such as cell towers and service. Water, wind, and cellphone towers can connect us, literally and metaphorically. But water also destroys and erodes fertile land, leaving us lost and barren. 

Some contributors ponder the place of one individual, somehow strangely present within a large universe. Who are we, what should we do here, what can we do here?

In works translated by Denis Emorine and Michael Steffen, Isabelle Poncet-Rimaud’s poetic speakers show up, with short vibrant bursts of feeling.

Kushal Poddar’s speakers find hope in difficult, painful places. His pieces are elegant and intentional with word choice, as determined to exist and hold onto their form as their speakers.

J.J. Campbell, our monthly prophet of death, aging and loneliness, contributes some vignettes where his speaker is able to step back and put his personal angst into a broader perspective.

Norman Olson also ponders his life’s purpose during a trip to Las Vegas. Why is he creating his artwork, what does he hope will come of his paintings? What would he do with a major lucky break that might come his way?

Lance Manion’s accidental hero inadvertently finds himself rescuing those in need while distracted, thinking of a woman who left him. Ironically, he loses his powers when she calls him, when he gets accepted again by someone in his real, ordinary life.

In Manion’s story, it seems to be one or the other: either you’re present for great worthwhile causes and adventures beyond yourself, or you’re fully involved in your closest personal relationships.

In Elizabeth Hughes’ monthly Book Periscope column, she reviews some books that focus on connection to one’s small circle and others that go beyond and connect to larger dramas, and several that do both.

Tina Heinrich’s Flopsy and Flathead and The Lumpa Rupper tell the story of beloved family pets. Nowrang Persaud gives a look at the culture of British Guyana while chronicling his own diligent hard work and journey out of poverty in Bitter-Sweet Sugar, while Michael Owhoko’s The Future of Nigeria outlines challenges facing a developing nation with a rich culture that’s plagued by corruption. J.R. Conway’s novel After the Ride uses a suspense novel and cast of characters to explore the human cost of cities’ paying for the homeless and mentally ill to leave town rather than investing in human services. Lawrence Wood’s The Transition: Initiated by Copernicus and Galileo, from Religion to Science looks at life at microscopic and then cosmic scales and encourages readers to choose a natural and scientific, rather than a supernaturally based, worldview.

Hopefully, this issue inspires you to be present, calls you forth into its world and encourages you to read its offerings.