Waleje in Love by Malcolm Rodney

This evening I would like to post an example of a new form of poetry, the waleje, a form invented by Nigerian-American poet Malcolm Rodney (also known as Prince Adewale Oreshade or Abdul Kabir Abu Irfan).  

Waleje in Love

i.

honey,

i understand it

when you said

you didn't see

the green light i sent

i really do, honey

i really do.

ii.

you see

it takes light

from the north star

four hundred and thirty years

to get to us. so the north star that

we see is literally over four centuries old;

literally!

iii.

so you see

i understand,

i really do.

and i can't

fault your

beautiful

imperfection.

iv.

honey pie,

quantum physics also taught me

that the light you just saw

that one you are very sure of

was three hundredth of a second old

at the time you saw it;

literally!

v.

yes, i know this

for light travels at

one hundred and eighty six

thousand miles per second.

so that your present is your past

and the past was never your present;

literally!

vi.

just be calm,

and listen to my voice,

perhaps, this will get to you.

i know sound travels faster in iron

than it does through the air.

i know!

but i can't speak in irons.

vii.

so all i will be saying

might be lost in the wind.

but you see,

i showed you the green light

and the light is my witness;

i hope you heard me!

i hope you will hear me!!

viii.

at three hundred and forty three

meters per second; i doubt it!

your presents have become the past

your present was never the present

your present was your past

and your past is history

gone with the wind...

ix.

you beautiful imperfection!

how then am i

to communicate

my love to you?

this love that

makes me exist in the present

and you, in my future!

x.

your eyes have failed me

your ears have failed me

no offense to your feelings

but they do not know of me!

murmurs in my dream?

soliloquies in the dark?

mirrors in my eyes!

xi.

if by any chance

you saw the green light;

i believe in miracles too.

i implore

that you heed its call

let its light

guide your feet

xii.

honey!

don't worry about

where we will

elope to.

i have got it

all figured out

i really do!

xiii.

honey!

you remember

what einstein

said about

traveling

through

time?

xiv.

yeah, when he said

that the closer an object

moves at the speed of light

the slower time moves for that object.

that theory is true,

and i believe it,

every bit of it.

xv.

and that's why i

have sent my

light to you

let's leave

this world

with all its

hate

xvi.

let's leave

this world

with all of

its fears,

anger,

and greed.

let's leave, love!

xvii.

i do not call you

to death, my love.

no, i do not!

i call you

to light,

life and

love.

xviii.

let's leave this world

for just two light years

we will be back

a hundred years later

when all the souls

that hate on us

are far gone

xix.

you see, honey!

a light year

is equivalent

to fifty years.

and two light years

is a hundred

gregorian years.

xx.

we will travel

at the speed of light

for two years.

two years of bliss

two years of peace

two years of progress;

enlightening two years!

xxi.

the faster we go

the more our mass

shall increase

and the more our mass

increases, the more energy

we will need to propel our

being further into space.

xxii.

i know this, love

but i am certain!

that the energy

of love within

us shall defy

gravity beyond

light's imagination.

xxiii.

i am certain!

that the infinite

energy of love

within us shall

defy any knot

that comes our

light way.

xxiv.

and when we return

we shall tell the world

about how science saved

love from the eyes of hate.

we shall tell

of how science

saved the art of love.

xxv.

we shall tell

of how the arts

gave science all

the infinite energy

it needs to defy

theories of relativity

and quantum physics.

xxvi.

and when we return, love!

we shall tell

of the art of science

the science of art

the signs in the heart

and the heart in the signs;

the milky way!

xxvii.

honey!

when we return into

this swirling teacup,

i shall hold you within me

and you shall sweeten my soul

with your raw wholeness;

how life is just a cup of tea!

xxviii.

when we return

if we return

if we ever leave

if you ever see

the green light

if you ever hear

the sound of love...

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For more information about the waleje,  as you can see, it is made up of a series of seven-line stanzas.  The series can be as long as it needs to be.  More information is online.

I think I'll start with some Stevie Wonder...his "Love's In Need of Love Today" and "Saturn":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFam9Tkmeug

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsDpO4mUYno

I want to switch gears a little with Warren Wolf's "Sunrise": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCoG-cQdzcw

Recently my husband and I saw Bela Fleck and Chick Corea in concert, so I'll finish off with a couple of their songs.  First is "Senorita": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT5P_YL1UDA

Here is a little bit of their "Waltz for Abby":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DijxYIavzcA  

Abby is Fleck's wife, the banjo player Abigail Washburn.  I'll close with some of her music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5avMOaEUxRQ