Review: “Drift” by Leonell Echa

Drift is a poem written by Leonell Elijah Echa from the album Handwriting by Ruddapoet.

Its a poem that asks the questions the society is faced with (difference of ethnicity, status, class and all sorts of division). It also highlights the solutions to most of these problems.

The pattern in which the words are designed in the piece already gives it a rhythm even before the sound married it, he outlines the use of very simple yet deep sentences by imploring relatable words. The ending gives it a repetition stressing a general solution ‘Being your brother’s keeper is the best way to stay alive’.

Leonell expresses a very deep pain that accompanies every human who wonders why we identify the colors in every human alive or dead. ‘Listen up I write, loosen up I might’ which apprehends the mind of the listener to be attentive to the following sequence, the poet delves into the caves (darkness) of his pain to say the truth as it is.

The poem begins with the poet expressing himself, then talking about what everyone feels, and that’s when the pronoun changes to ‘we’, loosing hope we try etc.

The solutions written in the poem is reiterated with the rhyme that follows ‘losing hope we try – silence is the only nation ruling, when we choose to hide’.

The poet who reiterates the state of the nation, tells it with a silent message (families had cried, enemies reside – colors that do not die will only fade, our daughters are better mothers when not forcefully laid).

Nigeria is painted vigorously in each line written by the poet and this represents every person and pain a person in the country goes through. There’s a beautiful quote that ends the piece to give the listener every fate and faith that it can get better if only we all choose to believe.

Ruddapoet