OF MOVING ON AND FINDING GOD

My name is Mildred Mutesi, a student of the English language and Literature in English. Currently, I am studying at Kyambogo University in Uganda. I was born on the 21st of February 2002, in Uganda. I believe poetry is not just an art, but a home. Yes, poetry is home. It is my home, it welcomes me every time, during good and bad times.

To begin with, An Open Letter to God ' was written in 2020, during the first lockdown, in Uganda. To be honest, I hated the lockdown(s), because schools were closed obviously, and we had to adopt the e-learning method. With everything that was going on, I felt a need to turn to God. I am only human, and He is the Almighty being, hence I wanted to leave/ give everything to Him.

In the above-stated poem, there is a sense of seeking. Obviously, we all get to know God after being told about Him, maybe by a friend, preacher, through songs to mention but a few. However, we can also know God by seeking Him and building a personal relationship with Him, because salvation is personal. Or by associating with people who know Him best and engaging in different church activities. Knowing God is worthwhile, henceforth, yes, there are benefits to knowing God. This helps us become righteous beings, who vacate from sinful lives to righteous lives. Basically, it is worth it. Reading the Bible equips us with knowledge and information. God's promises to us his children, separate us from hopelessness. As I said, the poem was written way back in 2020, I guess I was a child in the spiritual realm.

When it came to the other poem I Wish I Could Erase It , the inspiration came from an old best friend. It is after losing the friendship that I realised I can not do anything about it anymore. Therefore, I decided to keep the friendship as a memory, in form of a poem. This is my favourite poem (I miss him, LOL.)

In the poem there is an aspect of having to make a decision and the result of having made one. Honestly, experience is the best teacher. Hence, we need to associate with people more often so as to learn the importance of decision making. I would say we make wrong decisions because of being naive and failing to look at things from a wider angle. I chose to use contrast in the poem because that is actually the reality of it. For example, the line:

"I don't regret anything

But I wail whenever I recall,''

comes with this feeling of, yes, whatever happened happened and I cannot turn back time, neither should I be in regret, because it brings back nothing. Those lines are a flashback, without strings attached. I appreciate every single moment that I spent with the old best friend, because experiences can be good and bad. He is my favourite mistake. Moving on is hard, but I would advise others to genuinely appreciate every moment that happened with the person they are parting ways with. If possible, one should calm the storm before letting go. Always sit down and talk. It's worth it. But, if moving on without resolution is the only option, then darling, associate with other people who can understand. Yes, speak to someone, for a problem shared is a problem solved. Do not listen to sad songs, no, don't! Change the music genre and be happy. You only have one life!

Society doesn't define us. We need to appreciate the fact that there are those moments when we are down, and we cannot escape them. Those are the moments when we are at our lowest and, our lowest, can turn out to be out greatest moments. Self-pity is like spilling your own milk, then later crying about it. It is pointless and irrelevant.

The take home from these poems is that moving on is always an option and God is great. To anyone who wants to read or know more about my work, my email address is mutesimildred@gmail.com

Interviewed by sibuco

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