Sometimes we hear a quote attributed to St Irenaeus: "The
glory of God is man fully alive" which leaves out the second
part: "and the life of man consists in beholding God."
It is this full quote that I would apply to Benjamin Garba Usakule's
volume of poems entitled Musings in the UK because, through
his poems, he sees everything -from Creation, as in his delightful
description of a busy bee, to wider social issues - through the lens
of a life rooted in God. He himself confirms this in his opening
acknowledgement: "I would like to thank God, the source of all
inspiration, for guiding my thoughts and sparking my creativity
throughout the creation of this collection of poetry."
The poems range from deeply thoughtful to light and humorous, such
as the observant and very logical Of Irregular English Verbs, poking
fun at the English language; but the light of God's love animates each
one, even those tackling troubling topics as in Migrants.
Barbara Reed Mason
Catholic Author and Catechist