Home in Motion Review by Steve Urwin
From Nigeria to Newcastle, a series of short declarations of love for a new home.
Love letters from Tyneside, ecological concerns of neighbours, financial gripes and repeated declarations, of how the new city has welcomed and shaped the poet:
“This was the spool from where dreams were woven.”
There are some gripes, of course. From the daily round: threatening-looking dog walkers
and driving offences.
“Read my grief notes,” the author says, “silence stings
Followed by torrents of wailing.”
Some of the poems take on other cityscapes, London Eye is particularly engaging.
All poets crave peak experiences, seeing the world
“…through new eyes, fresh as sparkling water.”
Then with an admission of struggle:
“Wearing the binoculars of the wealthy for two nights,
My fling with this city has a luxurious scent.”
But there is plenty of punch in these short poems to engage eye and ear.
Fatherhood doubts and concerns about argumentative offspring:
“I pay a fiver daily for a truce on school trips.”
Discomfort follows in Restless Bird:
“I have laid eggs here
But the winterish nights are unwelcoming
Like the rising storms of racial tensions.”
And later in Turbulence:
“I have journeyed through vexatious winds
On alloy wings.”
There are also reflections on the homeland far away in tight rhymes.
“My Country’s best brains
Have become scattered grains
Fleeting poverty chains.”
Warmth and Lost Years strike chords for this particular reader:
“My emotions are a cyclone
Of bruising passion and bright years have taken flight.”
Love and contemplation side by side.
Themes of paranoia and the threat of police brutality are woven throughout this book, grounding the work in contemporary realities. The first line of Choking sets an alarming tone that few authors would confront so boldly. Yet amid this social critique, there are tender moments—poems of romance marred by the need to make ends meet, and even darkly fantastical expressions of love.
The final third of the book is particularly hard-hitting. Akinyemi offers words of caution in the wake of online predators and safeguarding issues, juxtaposed with recipes for a long life from the oldest and wisest of characters and lucky tunes of love.
There are poems to summon sleeping gods and nautical metaphors to signify the passage of time. Many poems are short and richly figurative, steeped in simile and metaphor to awaken ghosts and angels, banishing the forces of evil. These short lyrics also pay homage to the welcoming of the changing seasons.
“Who is a poet?” Tolu asks, “Without the magic of language?”
And this poet can certainly cast spells and weave his words to great impact in short lyrical verse, often where more realist poets may falter. Still, some pieces—Flame and Frame, for example—may benefit from grounding in more concrete detail.
The collection oscillates between triumph and loss, with one love poem providing a particularly stinging last line. Yet, Home in Motion concludes with a positive reminder of the power of poetry for wellbeing and happiness, engraving kindness on your heart.
These poems deserve to be heard as well as savoured privately on the page. Take the opportunity to see Tolu share his words live and feel the full effect of his compassion and imaginative power.
