Goodness Olanrewaju Ayoola

Meditations Goodness Olanrewaju Ayoola

Meditations is an x-ray of individual experiences and a collective experimentation. It is therefore not surprising that there are themes and poems which address individual excesses and sense of values. There are other poems that lampoon cultural maladies in the name of modernism and individualism. I find such poems a legitimate call for a renaissance of authentic African values and respect for the "fathers", a recurring theme in the book. It is also not surprising that such a book as Meditations will dissect the political hypocrisy bedeviling the sociocultural context in which the poems are birthed. Is it not true that the poet is a conscience of his society? Ayoola's incursive surgery, as seen in these lines, "my pen became a blade / and i, a surgeon..." (quoted from Cutting Her), dissects with such surgical mastery that very few arteries and veins can escape his blade! He has such a unique vision of his society, which makes him write with a deep prophetic unction. Little wonder that he writes of a future very few have been privileged to see. But this book is not all about warning and criticism of the obvious; there is also the celebration of love, laughter and life.