PSALMS: "PRAISE THAT CONQUERS" BY IKECHUKWU

The night was not loud,

yet everything was breaking.

Walls held voices

that no longer spoke,

chairs remembered laughter

that had quietly withdrawn,

and the air—

the air was heavy

with things no one could explain.

A man sat in the middle of it all,

present… but not present,

alive… but not living.

Nothing was missing,

yet everything was gone.

Peace had left without notice.

There are battles

that do not knock on doors.

They settle.

They breathe.

They stay.

Not seen,

but deeply felt.

A tension that lingers.

A silence that suffocates.

A weight that logic cannot lift.

Then something changed.

Not the furniture.

Not the income.

Not the location.

The sound changed.

He did not wait to feel strong.

He did not wait for answers.

He did not wait for things to improve.

He lifted a sound—

uncertain,

unpolished,

but real.

A simple song

from a sincere place.

At first,

it felt strange.

Like light

trying to enter

a room that had forgotten

how to open its windows.

But slowly—

very slowly—

the air shifted.

Because sound carries power.

What you release

decides what remains.

Silence invites shadows.

Complaints give them language.

Fear gives them space.

But praise—

praise changes the atmosphere.

It is not performance.

It is not noise.

It is not routine.

It is a force.

A deliberate defiance

against everything

that says you are defeated.

There was a woman once—

tired,

stretched,

nearly broken.

Her home had become unfamiliar.

Sleep avoided her.

Joy ignored her.

Solutions failed her.

Everything said,

“Give up quietly.”

But she did the opposite.

She raised her voice.

Not softly.

Not cautiously.

Not occasionally.

But fully.

It sounded strange to others.

Too loud.

Too intense.

Too much.

But some sounds

are not meant to be understood

by observers.

They are meant

to break something unseen.

And it did.

Not instantly.

Not visibly.

But undeniably.

Something shifted.

Because praise is not a reaction.

It is a decision.

A refusal to let darkness

write the final line.

A choice to speak light

even when surrounded by shadows.

There are two enemies

that quietly weaken it—

silence

and insincerity.

Silence allows things to grow

that should have left.

Insincerity creates noise

without impact.

But real praise—

real praise is honest.

It is steady.

It is alive.

It does not pretend.

It does not perform.

It stands.

It rises in kitchens,

echoes in living rooms,

lingers in hallways,

and rests in hearts.

It becomes a lifestyle,

not an event.

Because a home

is not just built with walls.

It is built with sounds.

What you repeat

becomes what you live.

So if the air feels heavy,

if the rooms feel distant,

if joy feels like a memory—

change the sound.

Not perfectly.

Not professionally.

But sincerely.

Let your voice rise

before your strength returns.

Let your sound speak

before your situation changes.

Because there is a power

hidden in praise—

quiet enough to be ignored,

yet strong enough

to transform everything.

And when it stays—

peace returns.

joy awakens.

light settles.

For a praising home

is not a perfect home—

it is a powerful one.

And where that sound lives,

darkness

does not stay.

© IKECHUKWU FRANK

https://www.pikfrank.com.ng

https://www.streamoflifeorphanagehome.com.ng

- Nigeria 

The poem portrays a deeply troubled emotional and spiritual state, where silence and heaviness dominate a home and an individual’s life. It reveals that sincere praise—expressed through song and voice—has the power to transform the atmosphere, dispel darkness, and restore peace and joy. Ultimately, the poem emphasizes that praise is a deliberate, powerful choice that can overcome unseen battles and bring renewal.