Photograph by Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva
The Babishai Niwe Poetry Foundation,
which promotes African poetry coordinated an East Africa poetry exchange
programme, with a Kenyan poet, Michael Onsando, who visited Kampala for a few
days. During his visit, he led discussions on the politics and aesthetics of
poetry, during an evening hosted by Femrite, where the discussion varied from
the potency of East African poets, to the validation sought by African literary
gatekeepers, to sustainable livelihoods in poetry. It was a vibrant evening,
laced with intellectual and creative discourse.
Photograph by Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva
Babishai and the butterflies.
Getting to that. A friend of Babishai’s and a personal friend of mine too, Tom
Forrest, a retired British Diplomat, who has lived in Uganda for decades of years,
with a house on Buziga Hill, overlooking one of the most breathtaking views in
Uganda, invited us to a brunch. Together with Jackee Batanda, a writer and
entrepreneur, and Sophie Alal, writer and winner of the 2010 BN Poetry Award,
we had a remarkable time. Tom is a nature enthusiast, whose garden boasts of
such a wide variety of plants and flowers, that we were immersed in it for a
while. My mother, who runs a successful landscaping business, introduced me to
the magnanimity of plants and flowers, and I’m always enamoured by the
experience. It was here while we chatted and walked in the garden, which a few
butterflies kept flitting around us.
Like any human with fairly good
eyesight, we were drawn to their essence. With Jackee’s camera, thanks to her
photography skills, we were able to capture some iconic moments of this
butterfly. One black and yellow species was by the window sill, stately and
striking. How do you capture such beauty in just a photograph? How do you sip
enough of it, to quench your insatiable need for nature’s grandeur! It’s
impossible. We tried, though.
It was later that I discovered
butterflies never fly in straight lines, to confuse their predators. They do
not want to leave obvious flight paths, as that would make them easy prey. On
reading Robert Greene’s ’48 Laws of Power,’ he too recommends that we should
leave a little mystery to our habits and schedules. A change in routine, puts
people off-guard and you not only brighten your vibe, but also heighten your
security.
I’ve seen photos and videos of
heavy set adults chasing butterflies down across miles, with butterfly nets.
Their indirect flight confuses the butterfly catchers, and it’s quite a sight
to watch.
Lessons from butterflies: We must
lay a large number of eggs; because that raises the assurance of survival. Live
in such a way that even with half of your ideas, plans, or activities failed,
there is assurance that your legacy will remain intact. Not because you had a
million ideas, but because the predators could not reach them, or destroy them.
Lessons from butterflies: Be
unpredictable. Don’t live such a monotonous and regular life, which leaves no
surprises. If you’re a dancer, change the music. If you write, change the
characters, and if you’re a parent, change your style.
There are hundreds of iconic
moments with Babishai, which were captured in photos. I’ll be sharing more.
Thanks
for reading.
Babishai edits poetry, and if you
have a collection of fifty poems or more that you would like us to look at,
email babishainiwe@babishainiwe.com,
or call +256 751 703226.
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