I, The Reincarnate Of Okonkwo. (Poem)by Marcel Ike Okonkwọ Poem by Izunna Okafor

Written By Marcel Ike Okonkwo


Okonkwo, my great grandfather. Sprouted from the metaphysical realm into the world of matter
Crossing the proverbial seven rivers and seven forests of Igbo legendary fables.

Coming from the soul's personality To penetrate the womb of earthly existence
You took form and drew your breath
which went through my lungs
and made me your incarnate
in the mould and spirit of my ancestors, entangled by the long arm of ancestral lineage.

Within the recesses of my inner sanctuary, in nobility and honour you have reborn your essence.
We commune in thought as you instruct my heart with the dictate of truth, decorum and good conduct.

The record of every thought you have given birth to is enfolded in my soul seed.
We live continually but not in one state of existence.
One life in preparation for the next.
I am more today what you established in previous incarnation.

Within the enclave of my bright heart
you revealed our native gods to be same as foreign deities.
Hence my consciousness at times lie with the gods of my forebears — a period of soul cleansing.

The lesson is,
we are who we are and who we are is what we are.
As within, so without.
What is bred in the bone comes out in the flesh.

The wisdom is,
nothing is ever black and white.
A whole spectrum lies in between and beyond.
It takes meditation to decipher the vague truth.

I don't need a book to tell me how you got into me,
I am aligned to the inner calligraphy.
The writing is on the wall of self.
Life after life. Age after age.
And this one sprang from the last.
I am the thought. You are that which moves the thought.
Where the heart is born from, and where ever it returns to, my spirit follows.

Once I knew not without knowing. Now I know that I know not
with the willingness to know.
Okonkwo, still a puzzle you have left me with, that destiny is where I end up and fate how I end up there
That a time will come when fate and destiny will meet at a crossed road.
While one defines who I am,
the other defines who I will become.

With the embers of your dazzling flame,
exorcise the demons of my future.
In the potency of your name,
guide me to the understanding of the meaning of life and my role in the world
so that my journey in lifetime be made well.

Okonkwo, I walk in your footstep
in memory of yesterday and in hopes and dreams of tomorrow.
One journey ends, yet a new one begins.
Out goes an age and comes an era.
Goodnight Okonkwo, good morning Marcel.
I am the only person I still aspire to be.

I am pregnant with infinity, it flows.
That was the river, this is the sea.
The Sun there is to shine.
A star like the moon.
Behold me. Now I arise.
Peace be still.


About The Poet:

Marcel Ike Okonkwo is a young author and poet who hails from Nimo in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria.
Although a graduate of Business Management, his exploitative mind transcends one line of study and cuts across various fields of life.

He has insight into life situations as well as offers practical advice as operating instruction for our existence.

Marcel Okonkwo inspires people to uphold virtues, integrity, moral standard and what could be seen as a life and vista that leads to ultimate goodness and refinement.
He is the author of these inspirational books — 'The Trail of The Guiding Light' and 'The Oracle of Light' which are all available on amazon.