Letter to Ernest Ògúnyẹmí

For context, I met Ernest Ògúnyẹmí during the Adroit Summer Mentorship Program. Last summer, he served as my mentor as I read, wrote, and analyzed different poems. Ernest’s piece can be found here: https://dibiasepoetry.com/2021-winners/ernest-ogunyemi/

Dear Ernest,

I hope this email finds you well! Currently, I’m in my poetry unit for AP Literature and we were tasked with sending a letter to a poet that has had a profound impact on our voice. You were the first person that came to my mind! In this email, I’ll reverse the roles and talk about why I enjoy your poetry; specifically, your poem ‘Bipolar.’

There’s something about this poem that draws me to it. Perhaps, it’s the uniform couplets, continuous flow between stanzas, or the sense of refrain that all personify the feeling of dealing with bipolar. What I’ve always loved about it is that it places the reader directly into the center of the speaker’s mind. The rhetorical questions asked and detailed observations make me ride along a wave of highs and lows like I’ve fallen into the ocean, thrashing for a life preserver. 

In this poem, I really enjoyed all of your imagery such as “my noons are wasted eggs in worry’s basket”
and  “sun sinks for nights.” They all add a subtle connection to nature, juxtaposing the speaker’s internal conflict with nature’s serenity. The line “carved a home in the tree / of my body” ties together the two scenes and adds to the questioning of existence after death; I’m enamored with this subtle link between the speaker’s “body” and nature. The ending of the poem is a wonderful conclusion to the internal turmoil articulated at the beginning—conjuring up images of a summer breeze after a storm. I loved the addition of self-reflection and self-realization between the lines, “something that kins beauty, will heal me.”

In our past discussions, we’ve both talked about how we expressed mental health within our works. This poem was a pleasure to read because it reflects the ways you described dealing with internal conflicts. I’ve always struggled with coming up with imagery that is interconnected throughout the entire piece. How do you come up with vivid details that conform to a poem's message? I’d love to read more of your poems—they’ve been so important in helping me find my own writer’s voice. 

Thank you for all your continuous help and support! 

Best regards, 

Ray

Photo of my email:

Bonus: Here are two stanzas from a poem I wrote while studying under Ernest: 

Xièhuáng (Roe)

I loathe the sound of cracking open

crab, how brine mixes with sweaty 

palms, reminiscing the sea’s bitterness;

it’s daunting how evolution 

perfected a claw only to be crushed 

under its metal brethren.