Read an Excerpt From A Phial of Passing Memories by James Yékú

Poet and scholar James Yékú’ has written in a variety of forms, but he returns this month with a second poetry collection that is deep and evocative, and that firmly grounds the reader in particular geographies while allowing them to explore the sublime. 

In A Phial of Passing Memories (Mawenzi House), we shift through seasons and scenery and follow the rhythms of life, even those that are steeped in the mundane. Through a deft lyrical voice and elegant lines, Yékú meanders through various aspects of the human condition with empathy and care. These poems are a testament to the power of unforgetting, the uneven pathways of our lives, and the nature of all things. 

We've got a trio of short poems from this beautiful collection to share with our Open Book readers today, so read on and immerse yourself in them. 

An Excerpt from A Phial of Passing Memories by James Yékú:

Tidal Waves

A tsunami of memories

floods the heart every time our

feet touch the shores

of other lands, a certain longing

for the places where we used to be,

places that push us

to the eaves

of new homes and discoveries,

to what we must now embrace

after a search of many skies,

the havens to which we aspire.

A tidal wave—

a pendulum that

swings our warring emotions

back and forth

with whispers

that echo new names.

Afrofuturist Sankofa

The gemstones of times to come

rebelling against the afterlives

of homochromatic violence belong

in the loins of the ancients, ancestors

of the future who heal with their words

and rain down wisdom from the loft

of sacred trees from which they

sprout rocket cities and resilience.

Humanoids, too, metal mortals from

distant clans who parade their truth

as brothers in our new galaxies.

Each night, I look above to touch their smile.

Each night, I seek the scents of their senses,

lurch into the place where becoming Black

is a delight to the earth, where the shadow

of freedom provides the sureties of liberties

once denied by those who swore most to

the sacraments of ethics and equality.

Perhaps I will be lucky to see the world

to come, to sit with Malcolm and Mandela,

fraternal sages for the fellowship of the free,

in whose breasts holy fire dwells with flames

of harmony. But to surrender myself to

this languor and the wistfulness it calls within

me is to negate their memories, the triumphs

of elders—alive again to guide our sail

to Mars, to the heart of the Orishas, whose

lights are emissaries from the herbs

12and fountain we drink to life.

So, as one that retrieves a daughter

forgotten in the march of progress, I stand

here, a supplicant before a willful deity,

beseeching the moons to unfold the

hidden scrolls of history and code their

struggles into the spirit of the Panthers,

into the souls of their architectures

and dreams. With eyes that cover the earth,

that look back to the future, I, Sankofa—

sage bard of the crimson skies—dance

with them and the unborn to the drums of

artifices, engines powered by the graces

of Black souls.

A Digital Memorial

The other day I watched a friend’s piercing words

break through the crowded wall of a mutual

on Facebook. It was a tribute to a fondness past,

to a soul disappeared into the memories of photos,

events and birthday messages they will never read.

I scrolled through a frozen timeline, the coldness

of it all like a lonely grave lined with orchids and lilies.

Then a comment caught my eye, and then

another, both written by friends of the departed

to wish them a long and prosperous life.

Those comments did not gather a storm of likes

nor summoned a sheen for the parade of egos,

only plaintive sighs for the festival of fleeting beings.

But I wondered if someone beyond our realm

was reading the affections of earthlings,

flipping through each post before tossing

them into the void until they reached

my constricted heart.

______________________________________

James Yékú is a tenured professor at the University of Kansas where he teaches African literature, and digital cultures. In addition to two academic monographs, Yékú is the author of Where The Baedeker Leads, and Ambivalent Encounters and Other Essays. A Phial of Passing Memories is his second poetry collection. Yékú resides in Lawrence, Kansas.