This poem was performed during the open mic session of the Garden City Literary Festival, 2012. The writer, Uche Anichebe, is a 500 level student of the Faculty of Law, Nnamdi Azikwe University. Though she was part of the Fiction workshop class, her performance of her poem "Stand Ye Up!" got everyone clapping during the open mic session during the GCLF 2012.
At the GCLF, we support writers with promise, one way or the other. We recognise talent when we see one. We enjoyed Anichebe's poem because it fits into the theme of this year's festival, Women in Literature. The performance was also profound, as her voice charged the women in the audience to take their place in the world. Read it and tell us what you think.
The breasts that suckled the nation's best
The hand that fed and lifted men
The womb that bore all men that live
and in agony, gave breath to them.
Stand ye up with the greatest pride
Stand ye up from the lowly state
And view the wonders that lie in thee
The splendour of the rising sun
Created when all things were still
In man's repose and nature's charm
When all was made so he needn't rush
He created you from tested stuff
Stand ye up with your royal gait
Stand you up with majesty
For ye have borne great loss and loads
Ye who hold the future's gift.
Ye are a priceless gift to man
The Ken that saved the Jewish land
The womb that bore the saving Lord
The loving heart from Calcutta
Stand ye up and know thy worth
Stand ye up with dignity
Stand ye up and know thy rights
and guard them from the treading toes.
---Written by Uche Anichebe
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