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Best Poems Written by Tolulope Onayemi

Below are the all-time best Tolulope Onayemi poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Tolulope Onayemi Poem

The Poems I Never Wrote

For the days gone,
For the days yet to be,
For the ones in the present yet to be decided, 
As they continue to rejoice in their various colours,
Allowing even the thorns and the roses to be subsumed.
To open up a chest of the anticipated.
To open up a chest of the blanks drawn.
An early surprise for the days to-be.
A belated best wish for the memories to let go.
For the desire stuck in the wind that blows.
For the happiness that feels uncertain.
For the emotions that have been the same for a while.
The poem I almost forgot to write.
Herein, for the essence of being.

Details | Tolulope Onayemi Poem

Numb

Hey Hey

I woke up with a story
Something lingering on my lips to be told.
I pondered on how to sound convincing talking about it;
Or, as in this case, writing about it.
A tale of consistently feeling like sleep was both good and bad.
I needed the sleep for me to be productive;
But I didn't need it as a reminder that the day was over.
That the day I just spent not achieving much was ending.
With the fear of repetition,
The words lingered.
The story of how I placed my people on a good slate.
Making sure there were smiles when I reached out. 
We don't always talk about what makes life for us.
Like I know you are there, and I only want good memories for you.
I hope that this rapport is worth it in the future.
But right now, I feel numb.


I'm telling you about 150 days of muffled hearing.
The days I was indifferent to the world.
Focused solely on the feeling of how much success I crave.
The inherited patience.
The cautious waves of laughter.
Dreams feeling too big when they aren't.
"You are stronger than I am"...
I wondered if that was a statement or a question by my loved one.
Amidst the numerous intentional chores.
I realized these are the numbing days.


Held on to my phone for too long;
Something I seldom do.
Browsing through the several musical apps,
Wondering what song suits the situation.
Should it be upbeat?
And quicken my body from this numb state.
Should it be mellow?
And embrace what I am feeling right now.
The emotion is unknown, but I define it as numb.
While still searching through my phone.
I found that no songs come to mind.
I am keeping myself busy;
With things that make me seem hardworking to others;
Yes, those intentional chores.
They became my music.
Drowning myself in those lyrics.
The lyrics of my movement, 
Accompanied by that sole desire for this phase to be over;
These are the numbing days.

Details | Tolulope Onayemi Poem

A Note In the Wind

On a cloudy Wednesday,
While listening to my favourite Tagalog playlist,
I scribbled a love note. 

Dear Love,
I don't know you yet, but I want to do life with you.
I can already feel how random meeting you would be; or maybe not.
I have so many secrets to share with you;
Will you keep my secrets?
I'll keep yours as well .

Then, I paused. 
Thinking of what to write next. 
My eyes shifted to my music player.
‘Muse’, the track I love came on. 
While mouthing the words of the song,
The love note I was writing flew right past me; 
Released into the wind.
Looking at the note which seemed to drift farther from my sight,
I mouthed the words that would have ended the love note.

 I’ll prove my heart to you
 I'll make you to be proud of what I feel for you...  


Your love

Details | Tolulope Onayemi Poem

'i Chose To Run, But Had I Stayed, Things Would Have Been Like'

For you, not for me.
The words I said to myself years ago.
While looking at what seemed like a reflection of myself.
With clenched fist knowing I didn’t ask for any of it.
Running away became a default feeling.
For a long time, I thought of it. 
Then the opportunity came. 
It was my birthday.
I didn’t have to stay anymore.
I chose to run that day. 
Had I stayed, 
I would have been continuously robbed of my happiness.
Fleeing from the unpleasantness was the only option for me.
Seeking to walk on a path that seemed tranquil and safe,
But unproductive to everyone around me.
I chose to run,
To find the road to stability.
To rid myself of the enforced pedestal. 
To not lose the ‘sense of me’ that was left.
I chose to run.
With the words ‘for you not me’ echoing in my mind. 
Had I stayed, I wouldn’t have given myself a chance.

Details | Tolulope Onayemi Poem

Future in A Song

My favourite song years ago was a play on words.

Just one word was emphasized. 

Every other thing said in the song arrived at that word. 

There was a chorus, two verses, and a bridge.

Similar to the activities surrounding one's goal.

Similar to the hope to still revolve around that goal.

Now, whether one achieves it, or not, is another story.

The future hoped for is one of the things we want to be proud of.

The future in words; 

The future in actions;

The future in prayers;

The self-timed confirmations,

And the self-timed re-directions.

The future might already be now,

The future might be tomorrow with a different approach.

So, even when the bridge become bridges, 

I hope you celebrate your efforts.

Those efforts make up your song.

Everything you have done so far,

Whether finished or unfinished.

Those efforts have been pointing towards You.

Just like my favourite song was centered on that one word,

You are the main idea.

You make up those efforts.

You make up the future. 

You make a reflection on that future you hope for. 

My song is yet to be completed,

But I have put in so much work,

And I celebrate that.

I hope you celebrate as well.





  **Future in a song: Just some nice words.

Details | Tolulope Onayemi Poem

Neman Told Me

The clarity of it all.

The glitter of the noise once enveloped,

Burst out into bits of incertitude.

It should be succinct but,

Sounded like a rippled sense of warning.

A threat that was also a hug.

The glitter was an emphasis; 

It wasn't gold.



With the puny efforts of a supposedly scented life,

While the garments are continuously hemmed with unkept promises,

Neman held the outstretched hands.

Hands wide open but scarred.

Wondered if it was right to hold them;

The noise once enveloped;

The sound of it all;

Neman told me it glittered more.

Like a starry vision with tingles.

Holding those hands with a fidget.

To let go or not...

Details | Tolulope Onayemi Poem

Absolute Love

I didn't see you there; hey!

I didn't expect you; but hey!

I almost lost hope for you; but hey there!

Like any other day, 

I walked my usual path,

I was certain nothing unusual would happen,

These days have been more of a routine.

I did write about you;

And there you were;

You looked like you embodied all the 'good' in the 'good morning'.

And that smile, smiling at a stranger like that!

I knew I had lost when I saw the smile.

You said 'hello', and whatever followed after flew past me. 

I know I gestured for you to repeat what you said;

Sorry, I was still locked in that smile.

All the love songs I had saved on my playlist flashed in my head at once.

I know it's an exaggeration; I know.

But that's how I felt when I met you.

Along the usual path, I found someone unusual.

It turned out you needed guidance to your destination.

While we talked, I shone in your eyes.

You found me just as I found you.

My absolute love was, and has been written.

I wrote about you before I met you,

And writing about you was just as beautiful as the wishes, and prayers that brought you to me.

Details | Tolulope Onayemi Poem

Invert

Path walked measured with words,

Stripping the unwanted ones down, to be newly clothed.

Lost swooning over how much happiness the heart can take,

Felt those properly sieved emotions flowing through.

The words kept coming as the path was walked.

The farther the path was walked, the heavier the words were to strip off. 

Could either take it or take a hit.

Feeling both the warm and cold inside.

The hovering cost of being myself for too long. 

While it seems like it is a lot of work,

The control over the words I embrace makes it all better.

That I can choose the words I take a hit for.

Details | Tolulope Onayemi Poem

Hoop and A Happy Child

A little child once hopped round a hoop.
The child tried it once and it felt like the best thing.
The child went back everyday hopping around the hoop with smiles and no care in the world.
Everything that happened before that hoop didn't matter.
The hoop was the only thing that didn't change in the child's world.


The child went again and came back a young adult.
This time, walked around the hoop muttering words to pass the time,
Reminiscing on how long she had been around the hoop.
What exactly about the hoop made her happy?
At least the little child was happy.
The little child came back a young adult that got tired of walking around the hoop.
The young adult who hoped to be able to free themselves from the hoop, stood blank, and spaced out.
Right at the centre of the hoop, she stood, thinking of what exactly drew the little child to this same routine.
A young adult who sought happiness like the little child stood right there thinking of how to leave the hoop happy and  not come back.

Details | Tolulope Onayemi Poem

Soft String


My galaxy in those round eyes. 

Smiling while unknowingly getting lost. 

Face lit up so much to be the Sun I need. 

Embraced by the strings of the Guitar you played. 

Each string whispered the softest call to me. 

Speaking warmth in different volumes. 

While it felt like I couldn't hear the sounds come out. 

I understood everything just by seeing through my galaxy; 

I saw it all in those eyes. 

Everything I meant to you. 

The melody you meant for me. 

I saw it through my galaxy, 

And she is beautiful.