Title: Melody of Love
Author: Oladele Babajamu
Publishers: Denique Publishers, Ilorin, Kwara State
Reviewer: Edozie Udeze
It is not common to see a whole collection of poems all based on love, romance and passion. But in Melody of Love, Oladele Babajamu has succeeded in doing so. As the title of the collection suggests, the poet is able to chronicle about 50 poems that tear at the heart of love and all the accompanying sentiments. The poems dwell deeply on how a man and a woman meet, discuss love, give their hearts to each other and how their hearts continually yearn for each other, often fussing together as one.
The poems are realistic, often too profound for one to try to have a recourse into a relationship. This makes the poet to state: ‘the message of love is a divine one from the throne of God. This is because God is love. And we are made in the image of God. It is a unique privilege and opportunity to write these verses on the subject-matter of love. This is another laudable echo to the voice of Apostle Paul’s epistle of love to the Corinthians in the Book of 1 Corinthians chapter 13. To God (therefore) be all the glory’.
And so, he carefully divides these love offerings into different sections and with appropriate titles. They are: Passion, Fantasy, affection and relationships. Each segment says much about this central issue – love – a theme that propels human existence. In essence, without love, life, human sensibilities generally, may be nothing but a farce. So, like most creative minds, the poet goes deep into the nuances of human beings to expose their inner thinking, effusively digesting those feelings that make love stick.
Yes, love is the answer. This poem sounds eccentric, a bit more challenging love-wise. It goes thus: ‘Love is the answer/to all the questions/And various challenges/of the world. Love is a vital tonic of life/A regenerative kinetic energy at all times/A renewable source of power in all circumstances/passed down by the Creator…’
When this sort of line is delivered to the world with all the sincerity that goes with it, won’t passion, deep compassionate sentiments, take over the surface of the earth? Babajamu is himself compassionate, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, the ink flows. His love that flows in these verses are not cosmetic or for mere egocentrics, they portray realities, passionate in their highest epitome. And so he recounts: God is love/man made in the image of God/Desires and longs to be loved/He feels lonely without love…’
In fantasy, he opens the section with one of the issues that trouble ladies these days. A lady is in her trendy years, full of life but somewhat choosy about who to fall in love with for marriage. Suddenly she turns 35 and that fear of the unknown begins to haunt her. Babajamu interjects thus: ‘Mr Right!/where are you? /I am no longer a teenager/’cos am now getting older/I don’t want to be a hustler/However, I’ve become a lone ranger/without any stable lover/composing text messages and romantic letters/from icon to messengers…’ Then he asks in a rather sombre tone: ‘shall I be single forever?’ This is over to the ladies who are always eager to wait for that quintessential, faultless man that may be too difficult to fathom, to get for marriage. This is a composite verse for those who are yet in their prime to heed before the thunderbolt hits them.
In section three, the verses bristle with affections – both for the man, the woman, all the ideas that win affection. Here a poem titled The only one fits in for mention. The poet intones: ‘My dear honey and sweetheart/The one and only love in my life/I have travelled around the planet/throughout the length and breath of this world/I have searched and lived in various abodes/the only convenient place/mostly comfortable, reliable and palatable is the chamber of your heart…’ Babajamu takes the everyday conversational love tones and verses in Nigeria to higher pedestrian. That they have been made into a published collections, shows the works of a keen observer, a writer who is at home with the sentiments of his society, his people. See, you are the sugar in my tea, so commonly used, yet it often serves the desired purpose, confusing and convincing women.
In relationships section, the sentiments are a bit altered to suit mainly teething affairs. The lines also help to build affairs that augur well for all the parties involved. As a love poet, romantic in and out of the military formation, Babajamu does not dither. He hits the nail on the head. Hear this – ‘live in love’. Now: “I am here/I met you here/love was here/And I know it not/so I am nobody/until I met somebody/so we became one-body/And now I know it/let’s create love/Hold the love/stay in love/And live in love”.
So on and on, the poet goes on to situate more provocative love lines, thus justifying the title of the book – Melody of Love. This collection is truly apt for young and older couples, lovers, all human beings ready to explore love to its highest level, to read and master. There is a particular way the verses seep into one’s subconscious. The verses evoke emotions; they rummage into the inner feelings of people, once you encounter them. The poems celebrate life; they eulogise human existence and leave the conclusion open to those who know how to navigate through the journeys of life.
Some of the titles include, ode to my sweetheart, my wedding day, to my father at 91, to my Golden mother. Others are: true love, the love of my life, Journey into passion, Be my Juliet, you’re my angel, the Elegant one, Sonnet to my wife and lots more. Each poem has a peculiar message and very instructive as well. And so, as we make this everlasting decision, let us be divinely guided, so that we may not pick the wrong bone, or wrong heart and flesh as the case may be.