Title: The Hymns of a Deepman
Author: Joshua Omeke
Publisher: Austin Macauley, London
Pages: 116
Year: 2024
Reviewer: Henry Akubuiro
The Hymns of a Deepman, the latest poetry volume by Nigerian bard, Joshua Omeke, represents a significant maturity in his artistic vision and poetic nous. In previous collections, the poet showcased the transcendence of African heritage, which has, for long, been denigrated by hegemonic colonial interests, and the interloping reality of living in the West as an emigrant conversant with the British heritages. According to the poet, “The Hymns of a Deepman is a mix of quintessential British heritage and African cultures to create a connection between both heritages.”
The poetic conversation is broader in Hymns of a Deepman with a canvas that aligns itself with a universal voice. The collection teems with a variety of themes from the immanence of love to the plangency of heartbreak; the marvel of religion and the riddle of attornment, the weight of injustice and natural disasters, the contradictions of beauty and fear, the majesty of lore and festivals, the evocation of Africa’s greatness and the valorization of its paschal lambs.
Omeke recreates thematized poetry with pictorial illustrations of ideas, history, humans and institutions related to each poem, making it a lamp with which the reader is guided through the verses from the bard’s supple fingers. Omeke poeticises in “Tales that Amuses My Emotions” about love and longing. Hence, “Love’s tale, a symphony of delight,/Feelings take flight, shining so bright,/Theories fade, lost in the night” (p.17). The lover boy anthem echoes in “Emotional Terrorist”, where love enkindles sweet melodies, graceful kisses and a profession – “… love, you are my everything.” The poem recollects pleasant past memories, where both lovers bask in the dew of passion, reflected in “Francophone songs, love’s toffee tune,/ Ray-Ban shades, polarize the sun rays,/While our sorrow blown away” (p.23), with the speaker in the poem admitting his mistake for hurting her love. This is a recompense, passing through a romantic alley to keep the love tonic revitalised.
Omeke celebrates history and men of valour and their significance in shaping civilisations, like in “Celtic Warriors”, where Scottish warriorism is revisited, weaving the importance of a triumphant spirit in the face of a tougher adversary. The victory of the Celtic Warriors in the poem, “Celtic Warriors”, over the Romans finds expression in heroic verses but tainted with blood: “Adorned in splendid armour, with chest-hole decimals by Giovanni Bianchini,/ Background sounds of sword clashes, whilst Handel played Rinaldo,/their warships crumbled as symbolic earnings to unite their tribes” (p.18).
In six verses, Omeke celebrates the African mother. This nostalgic poem about Africa depicts a mother whose son pays obedience to her indelible marks and sacrifices in raising her children. The felicity of expression in this remembrance is captured in: “My mother is a spider… her webs she spins,/Like a masterpiece of craft, capturing food and shelter,/ For her precious babies” (p.20). Omeke allows the reader a peep into his world with poems that hint on a doubtful past and a promising present. “Black Sheep with Intentions” reminds us about a child regarded as a black sheep of the family. But the rejected stone, as he grew up, became a cornerstone. The voice in the poem hints that the rejected stone has found a way to become a centre of attraction in the family.
Some of Omeke’s poems read like introspections, whereby the poet echoes aloud deep thoughts about the mystery of mankind, for instance, in “Wonders of Humankind”. In what seems like an eco quest, the poet asks: Why do we harm the planet we rely on for breath? Do all wanderers on earth have a purpose? Sometimes Omeke morphs into a lyrical voice that conveys a contralto tonality in his poetry. The rendering in “Epitome of Beauty”, predicated on black and its allure, calls to mind: “In the drapery of her ebony skin,/A seductive allure stirs within,/Her absence exudes a charming sigh…./In her presence, we witness a beaming sight,/The epitome of beauty, glowing ever so bright” (p.37). On page 39 is an eponymous poem, “Hymns of a Deepman”, which also celebrates Africanness.
This Afrocentric poem echoes a voice proud of the melanin in his skin and his African roots, “A brave home … A land with minerals pure, and an abundance of gold … My Africa, the loveliest garden of the living” (p.39). Like a paternoster, the poet invites Africans and those in diaspora to revisit their history in “Roots Are Before the Logs” and let their strong roots guide them. Culture and history are writ large on the pages of The Hymns and Deepman. “L’edim L’edim Wu Orisa” is a poem closer home to the poet’s Esan-Bini roots.
The poet, in “Harmony of a Zambezi, and Tallest Black Trees”, “Blurred Boundaries” and “The Moorish State of Macedonia” continue the African-might conversation. The greatness of the African civilization is summed up in “Alkebulan’s Trajectory”, while “Continental Pride” celebrates Africa’s flora and fauna. The memories of slave trade linger in “Footsteps to Western Yards”, a poem that situates the journey of no-return for Nigerian slaves shipped to the Western world via Badagry in Lagos.
Distinctive individuals, including the legendary Desmond Tutu, who fought against apartheid; the American activist, Marcus Garvey; the messianic Congolese leader, Patrick Lumumba; and the legendary King Selassie of Ethiopia, who championed the cause of blacks, are valorized. This collection establishes Omeke as a new-era bard relentless in his quest to validate African and British historic heritages to both old and new audiences worldwide in an age many Africans are disconnected from their roots due to globalization, acculturation and self-imposed ignorance.