The League OF Poets Presents SONGS OF PEACE: THE WORLD’S BIGGEST POETRY ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY POETRY 2020 With our cordial Sponsors: VesyJosh Art & Interior BaloArt Impacting Life ii First edition 2020 Edited by Balogun Iyanu Editorial Assistants: TLOP Publishing Team. Copyright © 2020 The League of POETS Email: [email protected] Check the back of this anthology for further information about anthology All publications are copyrighted with the Copyright Act Chapter C28 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 (Copyright Act). All individual poetry remains a life-time property of the author. The League of POETS publishes international poetry in English, with a strong translation section, critical articles, and reviews. All submissions are on the theme of peace, equity, harmony, love, justice and oneness. First Printed in Nigeria ISBN: 13-979-8-6245-5762-8 For our competition updates, info and queries please visit: www.theleagueofpoets.home.blog All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the editors. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. iii “I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality…” -Martin Luther King. iv DEDICATION This anthology is dedicated to the world, to the peace martyrs and peace advocates of the world. And to everyone who contributed one way or the other to the success of this collection. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The jury and editors wish to thank God for the inspiration and the supportive motivation to embark on this historical competition. The jury and editors also like to thank: Mary Lyn Luiz, Joseph Spence Sr., Assist Prof. Sahjahan Ali Ahmed, Charles David and Timothy Payton for guest-writing the introductory feature in this Anthology. The League of POETS gratefully acknowledges the generosity in the support of the following persons/poets: Pastor Praise O’ Judah, The founding pastor of Praise Revival Apostolic Ministries PRAM, (Nigeria), Founder, Poetry Abilities. Young Francis (Liberia), Williamsji Maveli (India), Assistant Professor of English Barpeta College, India, Sahjahan Ali Ahmed (India), Prof. Joseph Spence Sr. (USA), Alemseged Wolderamin (Ethopia), B.T Success (Nigeria), Balogun Segun Joshua (Nigeria), Balogun Femi (Nigeria), Bolanle Asogba (Nigeria), Mr & Mrs Balogun (Nigeria), (Robert Gillette (USA), Mary Lyn Luiz, Adriatik Jace (Albania), Philip Mainge (Kenya), Dr. Rinzin Rinzin (Bhutan), Jr. Anderson (USA), Nina Watkins (USA), Ilufoye Noah Adekunle (Nigeria), Ate Mamu (Philippines), Elizabeth Maranan Cahimbing (Philippines), Kelly Richard Johnson (Nigeria), Ven-Lyn Valdez (Hong Kong), Bolanle Asogba (Nigeria), Wendy Ronhausen (USA), Timothy Payton (USA), Alexander Samson Cruz (Philippines). The League of POETS appreciates with heartfelt thanks from our sponsors: Impacting Life, Vesyjosh art and interiors, BaloArt and internet makeover247. We thank the below organizations for the supportive promotion of the contest on their platforms: Almond Press, National Poetry Library, United Kingdom, National Poetry Library, Ireland, Freelance Writing, Bylines, Inkitt and Christopherfielden.com. We want to also thank groups and poetry organization that joined in the peace movement of this anthology. vi OUR GLOBAL TOP ORGANIZERS/ADMINISTRATORS Balogun Iyanu Founder, The League of POETS vii Bio: Balogun Iyanu is a Nigerian international motivational speaker, life-coach, song writer, artist, web designer, blogger, freelancer, song writer and award winning poet who holds a diploma in literature from Peru, His poems have been translated to 16 different languages. He was nominated as part of the top ten best poets in the world in 2019, Ethiopia. He has won honorary life-time certificates from India, Liberia, Peru, Nigeria, Philippines, America, Germany, Zambia etc. He presides as the founder and executive head of the league of POETS with its affiliated group Young Writers Forum. His first novel titled “Survivor of Truth” will be published this year. His affiliated group YOUNG WRITERS FORUM has administrators from the United States of America, Bhutan, Kenya and Nigeria with a goal to promote global peace through young literature. Balogun has written many articles in different publications inspired by his strong Nigerian patriotism, his essay “The Nigeria of My Dream” made him a finalist of the German world youth essay competition in 2018. He is a winner of GLS top critical mass builder global merit certificate for literature. India 2019. He was honored by merit a distinguished poet by Poetry Abilities. Liberia 2019. He is a winner of Inked with magic certificate of silver awards, Nigeria 2019. A Winner of India’s voice review certificate India, 2019, a winner of Poetry City Influencer Award, Nigeria, 2019. Balogun has been interviewed on winning a monthly prompt and a summer anthology from the U.S. and Philippines, namely International Art and Literary Review (IALR) and Poetry planet. Balogun has co-authored in the Circle of Life anthology, India’s Signature of Truth, Reminiscing Summer anthology and Stairway to Heaven anthology Philippines, among others. Balogun is a recipient of the prestigious peace certificate: “international peace and human rights ambassador” from the world literary forum for peace and human rights, Bhutan. Balogun has been awarded amongst others the prestigious international WEWU Indian award for literature, 2019. viii Ven-lyn Valdez Hong Kong The League of POETS SOPWBAOCP Chief Jury 2019-20 ix Asogba Bolanle Nigeria SOPWBAOCP Chief Jury, Nigeria. x Elizabeth Maranan Cahimbing Philippines The League of POETS Administrator xi Dr. Rinzin Rinzin Bhutan Affiliated group administrator : Young Writers Forum xii Williamsji Maveli India Affiliated group administrator : Young Writers Forum SOPWBAOCP Coordinator 2019 xiii Alemseged Sisay Wolderamin SOPWBAOCP Group Head xiv Philip Mainge Kenya Affiliated group administrator : Young Writers Forum xv Kelly Richard Johnson Nigeria The League of POETS Administrator xvi Ate Mamu Philippines The League of POETS Moderator xvii Nina Watkins United States Affiliated group administrator : Young Writers Forum xviii Ilufoye Noah Adekunle Nigeria The League of POETS Moderator xix Samantha Beardon United Kingdom The League of POETS Administrator xx INTRODUCTION The human life is a copy-book of achievements and failure which has a genesis record of progressing into a radical gravitating change of experience and exposure. We live to struggle against the prophesying pillar force that determines the meaning of our lives, the purpose of life or the existence of our lives. These pillars represent questions of who we are, what our purpose is here on earth and if life exist outside the prison walls of our planet. Our ideology of life is multilateral and multicultural. And this splits the unity of our minds; A man knows he has only one life to live so he says to him “I must live my wish”. He antagonizes his fellow being for sinister gain, he goes far to bankrupt his country, amassing wealth his life can’t see finish and war erupts in thunderous sounds like a volcano. We set fuel that lit up chaos, we discovered the advancement that took us by arm’s length yet we have refused to plummet into the thought that we had done so long ago. The current craze for wild wealth in the world has overtime boggled even our minds; something has tweaked in our minds that amassing stolen wealth is a normal thing. The alarming crux about this is the fact that it is the youth of today that flaunts in that direction. The youth is an embodiment of the future and there can be no future without the youth. If the youth who is ripe in his time to dazzle and glisten in a spark of hope, expectation, hard work, determination and insight of a brighter future than his generations is annulling this and blasting his ear drums with electronically amplified rock ‘n’ roll, following the wild vulgarity in dress morality and pronouncing it fashion, watching violent videos and swaying with the backward modernized mirror of the world, what will be our future? The youth must know his role in the modern world because the youth represents the peace of the future and the war that may exist in it. The axiomatic purpose of the world’s youth must be related to peace, how to attain it and why it must be attained. We are feel honoured to publish the winning entries of the youth because we are aware that we are publishing the peace of the future. For there have shown maturity in their poems and have exhibited a great sense of mission, purpose, and want in achieving the peaceful world every peace advocate dreamed of. This collection compiles poems deep in the immersion of peace, harmony, true love, justice and self-courage from 1,000 poets aged 16 and above all around the world. The first part of the anthology is majored in peace poems which are followed by peace harmonizing themes from part two. Selected poems where judged by our juries. Poets have written with a great distinction against anti-peace. This not only helped the purpose of this anthology but ignited it as well. This anthology is a perfect dictionary of peace poetry any student anywhere in the world can study, read and confide in. because some of the poems denotes xxi the truths of life. Part of our intention is to basically motivate readers in that direction. For the poems will do far more than inspire the world in that direction, as it will be a source of motivation.