Horns and Tusks

By David Udo

The book, Horns and Tusks is a poetic dissection of human struggle; the fight for survival, or survival of the fight. It is a collection of poems which highlight human life emerged in the struggle for survival, and this is very real in Nigeria, especially, the Niger Delta region.
Nigeria is a country with vast deposit of crude oil, solid minerals and well talented populations, but its people are severely impoverished due to greed, negligence and corruption.
Its a tale of crumb eaters on the table of abundance; a critical analysis of socio-cultural, economic and political impunities and the burden of a giant in Africa.
The horns and tusks are symbols of strength, royalty, and divinity, but also the points of struggle, vulnerability and susceptibility. At the points of our strength, we fumble and stumble under the weight of our impunities.
The book Horns and Tusks deals with other themes including life, love and romance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Africa
• Release date: Feb 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781482824780

David Udo

David Udo: Poet, novelist, prolific story teller, is a Fellow of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigerian; member and officer Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. He is the author of Horns and Tusks, the Ripples, Night Call and Nutcut (poems). He is an ardent advocate for global peace with keen interest in events around the world. David, his wife Grace and two sons, Brian and Joseph, live in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.

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Copyright © 2016 by David Udo.

Cover design: Edidiong George/ Joseph Idang

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

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Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Preface

Prologue

Horns of Lettering

Sounds of the Horns

The Sage Not Dying

It Is Only the Poet

The Writer Is Right

This Word Is Timeless

Horns Of Our Fatherland

My Fatherland

Not My Fatherland

The Locust Won’t Eat Us

Not Un-born Again

Our Sovereignty

Horns of our Stories

Hurricane Sirens

Nothing Falls Apart

In the Public Interest

They Are Not Like Us

Selective Justice

All They Can Make You

The Godfather

The Beauty of This Fight

Much Ado

Let There Be Rule of Law

As They Come to Occupy Us

Broken Bones, Dry Bones

Horns of our Struggles

We struggle Our Existence

Never Again Can We Lie Low

Junetwelfninteenninetythree

We Die on the Streets

Onboard Abroad

He Fought Alone, Won For Others

People of the Waterside

Acids for Bones

The Wailing, the Cry Won’t Stop the Killing

Before the Last Meal

The Meaning Meaningless

The Fallen Heroes

Can’t see the Hope

This Occupation

This Niger, this Delta

Too Young to Die I

Too Young to Die II

If We Cry No

They Cast Lots on Us

We Could Bite the Air

Pre-Test

Horns and Tusks

Diamonds of War

Our Wasteland

The Vulnerable

Against Us for Us

Bakassi

Who is after me?

Today for Us

Post-Test

Dancing Steps

War of Wit

What Can Happen

If in Six Feet

Post-Mortem

The Story of the Forest

I Don’t Want To Die

Horns of Anointing Oil

Alone in Death

Lucky Dube

My Brother, Dear John

Life in Exile, Death at Home

Horns of Romance

I Believe in You

The River Won’t Flow Love

She Dares to Love Him

He Could Pay a Million

Dis-man-tled

Epilogue

The Book

The Author

Endnotes

Dedication

This book is dedicated with great affection to the one who has known and felt the pain of the struggle for freedom for his people; that his people live in an equitable, free society, Obong Victor Bassey Attah, the Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State 1999-2007, and father of resource control in Nigeria

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge with all humility the Father of all wisdom and inspirations, Jehovah, the Almighty God, who bestowed the gift of writing upon many, and had given me the grace to write these poems.

I acknowledge all the writers, both dead and living, whose works have been of much inspiration to the writing of this book; Dr. Martin Akpan, Aj. Dagga Tolar, Late Ken Saro-Wiwa, Late Professor Chinua Achebe, Late Professor Cyprian Ekwensi and numerous other ageless icons of knowledge for giving inspirations to our world, and hope for the generations unborn.

I acknowledge with love the support of Grace, Brian and Joseph for being the wife and children with unspoken inspirations, the zeal and the urge to write more and more. They have taught me a better way to do everything.

I acknowledge with gratitude all who have one in way or the other contributed to