Rise and Fall of My Beloved by Utanu Maa

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Rise and Fall of My Beloved is a collection of poetry and prose about resilience—about the experience of stigma and rejection, disease and suffering, love and care, loss and grief—and also a testimony of gratitude, forgiveness and togetherness. Each of its three parts is a journey through life's struggles, pain and loss, all of which require an inner force to overcome, build, rebuild, succeed and heal: resilience. It expresses an undercurrent to an imposed destiny or stigma.

Based on the life experience of my late brother, Rise and Fall of My Beloved is a tribute to mankind's resilience to overcome adversities. The book takes readers from his vulnerable childhood as a neglected orphan set to die, through a childhood in which he was bullied, to his rise as an accomplished engineer, and sadly to his fall as a dying patient of HIV/AIDS. Each poem depicts the essence of unconditional love and care, the dignity of dying of AIDS, forgiveness, and family bond. This book is a manifesto of my brother's exceptional resilience, the best memory of him that will live forever. It is an invitation, an inspiration, a reflection that, when mankind encounters struggles, disease, pain, death, loss, grief, we have to grieve and heal, and rebuild.

The Pursuit of Love

Through life struggle and resilience came true love:

The love of his life, the girl who stole his empty heart,

The girl who caught even my father’s attention and esteem.

“You must marry the girl who will stand by you at any time,”

Dad said to his son, discretely trying to influence his mind.

His wisdom saw the essential mostly invisible to the eye.

Dad was a great, caring, loving, and protective father.

He loved the fact that she was a nurse, a caring person.

He believed that our deceased mother also would have agreed,

So, Dad adamantly murmured again that she was the “One.”

Zola was a man of his own mind, decisions, and actions,

But immature to understand and see the invisible essential,

He disregarded Dad’s wish and departed from the girl.

A short time later, my father passed away in his arms.

Devastated, lonely, grieved by the loss of our last parent,

Zola turned to dating, looking in vain for love.

His early craving for maternal love resurfaced with intensity;

He had resurrected from the greatest need of his childhood.

The emptiness inside of him dug deeper, hurting him to the

core.

What to hold on to? Something more meaningful was missing.

A love of a woman to soothe his grieving and lonely heart,

A soulmate with whom to connect deeply and emotionally

And spiritually to his profound inner self was gravely needed.

Maybe that was what my father meant!

About the Author:

I am Utanu MAA. I live in Toronto and work as a public servant within the Ontario Court of Justice. Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa, where I studied French Literature and Law before migrating to Canada in 1991, and thereafter studied Fashion Marketing, Paralegal and Law (1year) programs. In 2004, I was a recipient of a prize for the Poetry contest organized by Canada Heritage during the celebration of the Francophonie. "Couleur d'une langue" (The Color of a language), my unpublished poem about the diversity and different accents that give rhythm and power to a language to become an umbrella of one identity. "Rise and Fall of My Beloved" is also my own journey into unconditional love and care, and the resilience to deal with pain, loss, grief, to grieve, heal and continue with life after my brother's death.

Connect with Utanu Maa: http://utanumaa.com/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorUtanuMaa

Purchase Links:

AMAZON.COM: https://amazon.com/dp/0228836506
AMAZON.CA: https://amazon.ca/dp/0228836506
KINDLE: https://amazon.com/dp/B08M2DNJHP
BOOKSHOP: https://bookshop.org/books/rise-and-fall-of-my-beloved/9780228836506
INDIGO CHAPTERS: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/rise-and-fall-of-my/9780228836513-item.html
BARNES and NOBLE: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rise-and-fall-of-my-beloved-utanu-maa/1138021915
BOOK DEPOSITORY: https://www.bookdepository.com/Rise-and-Fall-of-My-Beloved-Utanu-Maa/9780228836506
RAKUTEN KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/rise-and-fall-of-my-beloved
SMASHWORDS: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1051884
APPLE BOOKS: https://books.apple.com/us/book/rise-and-fall-of-my-beloved/id1538242460

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