Review: “Roofs Of War” By Emny Circuit

“The roof of war” is a spoken word poem written by Emny circuit. Emny circuit hails from Jos and Jos has been plagued by crisis and insurgent attacks in the recent years, therefore it is no surprise that this piece is centered around war.

We get to see the opinion of Emny on the crisis and attacks through this piece. The title “roof of war” alone is revealing. It gives the reader or listener insight into the type of poem.

The writer did not hesitate to pass his message right from the opening lines. And he did so with vivid imagery like “we were awakened by the whispers of their feet”, “alarmed by the rattling of their guns, our peace fled”. These lines bring us to the reality faced.

The use of metaphors such as “our day now knows no light” to means the darkness and sadness they felt from being attacked at night while sleeping in their bed. They were attacked by their neighbours whom they showed hospitality and welcomed with open arms. Their seemingly “good gesture” is coming back to bite them.

The government is nonchalant about their plight, as they are busy defrauding them. The tool of Question was dominant throughout the piece. As the writer kept asking them rhetorically, like “God are you there? Are you watching?” “Will my buried friends grow into trees?” “Do you share my pain? Will you fight for me?”

Personification was used everywhere, “war took our bed space “, “words that cajoled and maimed us”, “peace fled”, “whispers of their feet”.

We also have hyperbole, “we cuddled lions”, “we held vipers”.

G illiterates in “good gestures”, W also illiterates in “we were awakened by their whispers”.

The poem is a free verse and has no structure or rhyme scheme. The writer is trying to awaken a consciousness in the mind of readers. Thus, he ended with “ready yourselves for war”.

While we sleep at night, hundreds are dying and people don’t seem to care, but they are worried about global warming. What an irony it is, “will these pool of blood stop your global warming?” There is also the media with their lopsided reportage. “The media formed her blind eye yet she sympathizes with us.” Then there are the soldiers who are making matters worse, “soldiers are littering our streets, their presence as effective as their absence.”

The tone of the poem is that of pain, regret, and sadness. The themes range from war, to carnage, and frustration.

Here are a people whose neighbours kill them for a cause they believe in while in their sleep and the world turns a blind eye. If the world will not defend them, they will defend themselves.

I felt Emny could have done more in terms of imaginary, there wasn’t enough to convey the seriousness of the situation. He could have increased the length and invoked more emotion. There is a call for action and the aim is to use the piece as a tool of social justice.

The diction were simple and easy to understand. It leaves you wanting to hear more.

Vera Bonny