There is a popular saying that nothing is hidden under the sun. The sun, constant and watchful, governs the rhythm of life. It illuminates truth by day and surrenders the world to uncertainty by night. Yet in The Sun Laughs At Night, Davy Fidel challenges this familiar symbolism, redefining the sun as something far more complex, deeply human and operating day and night.
As the author notes in the introduction, “The Sun has become a different definition for humans.” This definition forms the backbone of the collection of his poetry book. The poems navigate the unsettling terrain of darkness, emotional blankness, and existential weight that often define modern existence.
This collection's themes are politics, strained relationships, love and romance, and the inner conflicts of being a writer. At first glance, these themes may seem disparate, but Fidel binds them together through a consistent emotional undercurrent: a restless search for meaning in a fractured world.
One of the book’s strengths lies in its heavy use of metaphor. Fidel wields figurative language not just as a stylistic device, but as a weapon. He channelled anger, frustration, and quiet hope into vivid imagery. Some poems are emotional outbursts shaped into art, raw yet deliberate.
This is especially evident in the poem “Metaphor,” which opens with stark images of decay and helplessness:
The metaphor of today is a dead rose
It is a banana shell crushed mercilessly
It is an orange squashed with lies
It is a house mobbed with conspiracy.
Here, language itself appears wounded, burdened by societal corruption and dishonesty. Yet, Fidel refuses to end in despair.
The poem shifts, urging readers toward a firm expression of who they are:
We are metaphors that must not hide inside our words.
We must be universal like the solar flare.
He concludes with a defiant call:
A metaphor we are told to be.
Disagree! Let the earth feel your firmness.
This transition from helplessness to resistance, is emblematic of the entire collection. Though steeped in despair, the poems are not without hope; they flicker with resilience.
Structurally, The Sun Laughs At Night is divided into five sections, each containing about ten carefully crafted poems. The section titles—Those Words, The Sun is Cold, Stop the Fire, That Nonsense, among others, are as evocative as the poems under them, drawing readers into deeper reflection even before the first line is read.
Davy Fidel proves himself a thoughtful and deliberate wordsmith. His command of imagery and figurative language demonstrates not only technical skill but also a profound engagement with the human condition. While some poems lean heavily into abstraction, they reward patient readers with layered meaning and emotional resonance.
The Sun Laughs At Night is a contemplative and unsettling collection, one that mirrors the contradictions of our time while quietly insisting on the possibility of hope beneath the darkness.
Reviewer: Ngozi Ebubedike Ahumibe.
Author and Publisher.
BOOK LINK
https://selar.com/77b2195691?currency=USD
