Update: Prose & Poetry Hood Announces Winner Of Valentine Poetry Competition

After a successful completion of the Valentine poetry competition, Prose & Poetry Hood announces winners and top entrants.

Winner: Nzere Chinedu

Nzere Chinedu is a Nigerian Writer, Poet and Caterer. He is known for his zest for poetry. He has countless poems to his credit like; How I murdered four girls, Phases from the lenses of a toddler, My life is hanging on a thread, Lota (Amnesia), Veneration, 69 Alphabets, Boys who want love, to mention but a few. He also have a few short stories both published and unpublished to his name. His love for writing started in 2006 and ever since, he has only gotten better with each piece he has written. He calls himself a lover thus he writes mostly about love. His love for writing knows no bounds and he gets his inspiration from life and love.

1st Runner up: Omipidan Teslim Opemipo

Teslim Opemipo Omipidan is a Nigerian poet, blogger, historian and student currently studying mass communication in Adekunle-Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria. He believes poetry is a powerful tool that can be used in preserving the history and cultures of Nigeria.

 

2nd Runner up: Ayomide d’great

Ayomide d’great is a Writer, poet, lyricist, essayist, presenter, actor and public speaker. He’s a graduate of the university of Ibadan with a bachelors degree in Library and Information science. He’s presently working with First City Monument Bank (FCMB) as a direct sales agent. He has written over 600 poems, 9 anthologies, 4 story books and several articles, he has featured writers and poets within and outside Nigeria in his series and others work.

Below are the top 10 poems:

1. • HOW TO FALL IN LOVE – Nzere Chinedu
2. A SONG FOR AWENI – Omipidan Teslim Opemipo
3. TO A PRICELESS PRINCESS: NOW YOU’RE A QUEEN – Ayomide d’great
4. OKAN MI – OkaforOnyinyechi Joy
5. PRAYER – Wisdom Nemi Otikor
6. AN ODE TO LOVE – Abraham Onu
7. THE EIFFEL TOWER – Ebube Nnenna Cleo
8. VALENTINE’S ORDEAL – Adeyemi Joshua
9. FEBRUARY 14 – Olabisi Akinwale
10. THE BODY OF LOVE – Adeniran,Ogooluwa Joseph

Top Three Poems:

HOW TO FALL IN LOVE – Nzere Chinedu

Wake up very early in a strange land,
walk through it like you know
its nooks and crannies.
there is a map in the eyes
of every stranger you meet,
ask for directions.
sometimes you get lost,
other times your skin is engulfed in lust;
every pore ejaculates.
keep walking, maintaining a steady pace,
stop halfway, then look how far you’ve journeyed,
it measures exactly how long
your heart will hurt when broken.
days, weeks, years,
sometimes a lifetime.

A SONG FOR AWENI – Omipidan Teslim Opemipo

Aweni, even though love is a song
that most times burn the palate and tongue,
I always have found unshakable courage
in folding your name into a sweet serenade
I gallantly wear on my ecstatic lips
while my hands grope on your imposing hips
at the backyard of your father’s hut
in a weather not cold neither hot.

Aweni, let our love exhibit not the tale
of a river that neglected its source
and how it broke into fields of pebbles
and sands now wrapped in forgotten memories,
but let our love reflect the elegance of beads
that adorn the waists of my village maidens
and the eminence of the way they wiggle
with ease like leaves on the facade of water.

Aweni, if to love you is to toy with fire,
I will poke the sun with my middle finger.

TO A PRICELESS PRINCESS: NOW YOU’RE A QUEEN – Ayomide d’great

They say true love never dies, never gamble never dice
I’m dying for love and through it i survive
The course is a blessing; A blessing in disguise
You’ re my dream come true, a pinch of truth where a million lie lies
My thoughts are mine, the goldmines whenever i think of you
The wonderful you is the you that made me see you beyond you
The inscription of you cannot phantom the description of thee
A blee of glee, the root of the beauty family tree
If love is a dream, i don’t want to wake up
Your beauty a treasure chest; A beauty beautified beyond make up
I will build a castle in the sky if the stars are what it takes to love
But it far beyond wishes, far beyond what shines from above
I don’t think you’re beautiful i think you are beyond it
My love for you is a heart that lives beyond beat
My very own Cleopatra,queen of my Nile
I will forever adore your beautiful face and your pretty smile
To find you will cost legs to walk a million mile
To a priceless princess;Now you’re a queen,my beautiful goddess of love’s river Nile…

Chinedu Nzere takes home a N5000 cash prize, Omipidan Teslim Opemipo and Ayomide d’great takes home N2500 each, and their poems, along with all the other poems in the TOP 10 shortlist, will be automatically published in an anthology titled ‘Love Struck’.

The finalists will also each receive a certificate and free copies of the anthology.