{"id":2215,"date":"2017-11-07T13:59:54","date_gmt":"2017-11-07T13:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/?p=2215"},"modified":"2017-11-07T13:59:54","modified_gmt":"2017-11-07T13:59:54","slug":"across-the-oceans-i-issue-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/across-the-oceans-i-issue-8\/","title":{"rendered":"ACROSS THE OCEANS I (ISSUE 8)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 1.7.8 -->\n<div class=\"quads-location quads-ad1\" id=\"quads-ad1\" style=\"float:none;margin:0px;\">\n\n <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.1.7.8 Content AdSense async --> \n\n<script async data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\">\nvar quads_screen_width = document.body.clientWidth;\nif ( quads_screen_width >= 1140 ) {\r\n\/* desktop monitors *\/\r\ndocument.write('<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5983616716487778\" data-ad-slot=\"\" ><\/ins>');\r\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n}if ( quads_screen_width >= 1024  && quads_screen_width < 1140 ) {\r\n\/* tablet landscape *\/\r\ndocument.write('<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5983616716487778\" data-ad-slot=\"\" ><\/ins>');\r\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n}if ( quads_screen_width >= 768  && quads_screen_width < 1024 ) {\r\n\/* tablet portrait *\/\r\ndocument.write('<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5983616716487778\" data-ad-slot=\"\" ><\/ins>');\r\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n}if ( quads_screen_width < 768 ) {\r\n\/* phone *\/\r\ndocument.write('<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5983616716487778\" data-ad-slot=\"\" ><\/ins>');\r\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n}<\/script>\n\n <!-- end WP QUADS --> \n\n\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>ACROSS THE OCEANS I (ISSUE 8)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>TWO POEMS | SANTOSH BAKAYA<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>DEAD WEIGHT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I was a pilgrim, plodding forth, my ankles heavy<br \/>\nwith a dead weight.<br \/>\nI dragged my feet over the treacherous terrain<br \/>\nAh, I was in pain.<\/p>\n<p>In the battered skyline, lightning flashed<br \/>\na tattered byline; bruised and bludgeoned.<br \/>\nEverything was dismal and dark, I gave a start.<br \/>\nThe lightning reminiscent of a gash in a broken heart.<\/p>\n<p>Morning came with sunbeams bright.<br \/>\nThe white-breasted kingfisher sitting on the telephone wire<br \/>\nlooked golden in the morning light.<br \/>\nThough a far cry from being a show stopper<br \/>\nI was eyed with interest by a robust grasshopper.<br \/>\nA koel burst into a dulcet number<br \/>\nAs though a plumber, plumbing the depths of a clogged pipe<br \/>\nhad suddenly removed the blockage.<\/p>\n<p>In the tree something stirred; it was a tiny bird,<br \/>\nthe young one of the Monarch \u2013 black necked,<br \/>\nanswering its mother\u2019s pecks.<br \/>\nA lullaby meandered, and settled near my ears,<br \/>\nhumming, singing, warbling and cooing.<br \/>\nLo and behold, my jubilant heart started twisting and tangoing.<br \/>\nIn a jiffy, this lullaby spiffy, banished my worry lines.<br \/>\nWas it magic \u2013 black or white?<br \/>\nI heard a child\u2019s rattle<br \/>\nTinkling from some subterranean depths<br \/>\nwith all its might.<br \/>\nNo longer did I feel battle-weary<br \/>\nJust a little teary<br \/>\n\u2013eyed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>MY PEN BURNS\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When the long arms of the violet night embrace me<br \/>\nand tear-etched faces jump at me from cracks in the skyline<br \/>\nThe stream gurgling behind my tiny cottage<br \/>\nSerenades me with pastoral songs,<br \/>\nerasing those traumatized faces haunting me<br \/>\ntill I go into raptures of delirious delight.<br \/>\nThe soft hill breeze wafting from the trees<br \/>\nsends me into a reverie, unending.<br \/>\nThe moonbeams, in a burst of shimmering compassion<br \/>\nPierce the all-encompassing fog<br \/>\nPouring their glimmer on a skeletal man<br \/>\nsitting on a gnarled log, in patched dungarees.<br \/>\nHe sighs a long drawn-out sigh,<br \/>\ntapping a tattoo on one pathetic patch<br \/>\nas tears glide down his cheeks.<br \/>\nA new song strokes his tired heart,\u00a0slowly, silently.<br \/>\nThe water ripples on in the creeks.<br \/>\nPeace goes seeking a peacock flaunting its plumage<br \/>\nBright; settles under a lush tree, listening to the mockingbird sing.<br \/>\nMy pen burns, yearning to turn into a paintbrush and splash<br \/>\nthe hues of love on the canvas of the sky.<br \/>\nThe trees whistle, as the night woos the moon.<br \/>\nMy heart dances and applauds this sudden boon.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/11696452_867586403278533_6535573221904089954_o.jpg\"><img data-attachment-id=\"2216\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/across-the-oceans-i-issue-8\/11696452_867586403278533_6535573221904089954_o\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/11696452_867586403278533_6535573221904089954_o.jpg?fit=2048%2C1536&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2048,1536\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"11696452_867586403278533_6535573221904089954_o\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/11696452_867586403278533_6535573221904089954_o.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/11696452_867586403278533_6535573221904089954_o.jpg?fit=790%2C593&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2216 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/11696452_867586403278533_6535573221904089954_o-300x225.jpg?resize=300%2C225\" alt=\"11696452_867586403278533_6535573221904089954_o\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/11696452_867586403278533_6535573221904089954_o.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/11696452_867586403278533_6535573221904089954_o.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/11696452_867586403278533_6535573221904089954_o.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/11696452_867586403278533_6535573221904089954_o.jpg?w=2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/11696452_867586403278533_6535573221904089954_o.jpg?w=1580&amp;ssl=1 1580w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>Although she has a doctorate in modern political theory, <strong>Dr Santosh Bakaya<\/strong> has always been\u00a0intensely passionate about Literature.\u00a0 An academician, critic, poet, essayist and novelist, she has made her mark both in prose and poetry.<\/p>\n<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 1.7.8 -->\n<div class=\"quads-location quads-ad2\" id=\"quads-ad2\" style=\"float:none;margin:0px;\">\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<script>\r\n  (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({\r\n    google_ad_client: \"ca-pub-5983616716487778\",\r\n    enable_page_level_ads: true\r\n  });\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Her three mystery novels, [The mystery of the Relic, The mystery of the Jhalana fort and The mystery of the Pine cottage] for young adults were very well received.\u00a0Ballad of Bapu, a poetic biography of Mahatma Gandhi, published by Vitasta publishers, Delhi [2015], is also being acclaimed internationally.<\/p>\n<p>Her essays on Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.have been published in Gandhi Marg, a quarterly journal of Gandhi Peace Foundation. She has also been published and interviewed in Cafe Dissensus and has contributed in national and international anthologies, like those published by Poets, artists Unplugged [Colours of Refuge and Resonance]. Her poetry has also appeared in Learning and Creativity \u2013 Silhouette magazine, Incredible women of India, , Mind Creative, In Brian Wrixon\u2019s anthology, \u00a0the online magazine Episteme, [ Mumbai].<\/p>\n<p>She has also been a featured poet in Pentasi B World Friendship poetry and was conferred with the Universal Inspirational Poet Award jointly by Pentasi B and the Ghanaian Government in May 2016.\u00a0She received the International Reuel Award for writing and literature 2014, for her long poem \u2018Oh Hark!\u2019, which now forms part of \u2018The Significant Anthology\u2019 and \u00a0also\u00a0the Incredible Woman of the Year 2015 award instituted by The Incredible Women of India blog .<\/p>\n<p>The Poet Laureate award instituted by Poetry Society of India was recently conferred on her for her long poem \u2018Oh Hark\u2019\u00a0and her books \u2018Ballad of Bapu\u2019, \u2018Flights from my Terrace\u2019 and \u2018Where are the Lilacs ?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Although hailing from Kashmir, India, she stays in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India with her husband and university-going daughter.\n<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 1.7.8 -->\n<div class=\"quads-location quads-ad3\" id=\"quads-ad3\" style=\"float:none;margin:0px;\">\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<script>\r\n  (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({\r\n    google_ad_client: \"ca-pub-5983616716487778\",\r\n    enable_page_level_ads: true\r\n  });\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ACROSS THE OCEANS I (ISSUE 8) TWO POEMS | SANTOSH BAKAYA DEAD WEIGHT I was a pilgrim, plodding forth, my ankles heavy with a dead&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[25],"tags":[67,457,441,458,114,278],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2016,"url":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/across-the-oceans-i-issue-7\/","url_meta":{"origin":2215,"position":0},"title":"ACROSS THE OCEANS I (ISSUE 7)","date":"July 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"ACROSS THE OCEANS I (ISSUE 7) Two Poems by Santosh Bakaya TO THE WOMEN OF ACCRA (Written in Accra, Ghana during my sojourn there in May 2016) Your glowing skin Speaks the language of love, Of hope, of diligence immense Your untiring hands wield the ladle Your child snug in\u2026","rel":"nofollow","context":"In \"Across the Oceans\"","img":{"src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1473,"url":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/across-the-oceans-issue-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":2215,"position":1},"title":"ACROSS THE OCEANS (ISSUE 5)","date":"October 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"ACROSS THE OCEANS (ISSUE 5) \u00a0 THE WOMAN IN THE ROCKING CHAIR By Santosh Bakaya In her lonesome heart A lone wave curls around itself Unfurling bottled fragrances. They waft out, uncorked Serenading the woman who rocks in the rocking chair Rock, rock it goes in sync with the ticking\u2026","rel":"nofollow","context":"In \"Across the Oceans\"","img":{"src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4352,"url":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/the-countdown-nigerian-students-poetry-prize-nspp-2020-awards\/","url_meta":{"origin":2215,"position":2},"title":"THE COUNTDOWN: NIGERIAN STUDENTS POETRY PRIZE (NSPP) 2020 AWARDS","date":"August 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"On 15th of January, 2020, the fifth edition of the Nigerian Students Poetry Prize (NSPP) was declared opened for submissions at a press briefing which held at Home Touch, Surulere, Lagos. Students, parents, poetry enthusiasts and journalists were present at the event where we invited Nigerian undergraduates to submit a\u2026","rel":"nofollow","context":"In \"Activities\"","img":{"src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2215"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2215"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2357,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2215\/revisions\/2357"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}