Review of Nigerian poet Chris Abani’s poem War Widow

 Review of Nigerian poet Chris Abani’s poem War Widow

I request readers to first read the poem from the link below and then only my review.

https://www.poetryoutloud.org/poem/war-widow/

The title and content of the poem made me think the poet is female. But Chris has done very well to depict the plight of a widow. The following stanza reveals the widow is either a lift operator or a blue collared in a commercial skyscraper. In each floor she sees familiar faces and smiles which symbolize a typical work environment. The expression ‘victory whittled from the hard stone of death’ is figurative of her rise into a working woman after her partner’s death. The expression is very poetic and subtly highlights the ironical empowerment this woman got.

Riding the elevator all day,
floor after floor after floor,
each stop some small victory whittled
from the hard stone of death, you smile.
They used to write epics about moments like this.

The choice a theme for a poem is the poet’s call and his freedom. The price of war is borne by common men and women, the marginalized and the families of the martyrs. Chris’ dreams were not welcome in Nigeria till his exit by way of prolonged imprisonment and victimization by those in authority. But Chris empathized with the masses of Nigeria and with the marginalized. His dream for inclusiveness, empowerment of women and peace are reflected in this poem.