Breaths By Birago Diop

Listen more often to things rather than beings.
Hear the fire's voice,
Hear the voice of the water.
In the wind hear the sobbing of the trees,
It is our forefathers breathing.

The dead are not gone for ever.
They are in the paling shadows,
And in the darkening shadows.
The dead are not beneath the ground,
They are in the rustling tree,
In the murmuring wood,
In the flowing water,
In the still water,
In the lonely place, in the crowd;
The dead are not dead

Listen more often to things rather than beings.
Hear the fire's voice.
Hear the voice of the water.
In the wind hear the sobbing of the trees.
It is the breathing of our forefathers
Who are not gone, not beneath the ground,
Not dead.

The dead are not gone forever.
They are in a woman's breast,
A child's crying, a glowing ember.
The dead are not beneath the earth,
They are in the flickering fire,
In the weeping plant, the groaning rock,
The wooded place, the home.
The dead are not dead.

copyright © Birago Diop (1906-1989)

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Themes of Piano and Drums by Gabriel Okara

Gabriel Okara, the writer of "Piano and Drum" was born in Bayelsa state, Nigeria in 1921. A novelist and a poet; he was once a civil servant. His poem "Piano and Drums" was well beautified with imagery and symbolism.

The themes of the poem can be divided into three: (1) Childhood reminiscence and its effect (2) Complexity of the present and future (3) Dilemma.

Childhood reminiscence and its effect

Since the poem is about the poet's experience with two different cultures or lifestyles, the poet used the experience of his village background to depict African culture which he grew up with, while comparing it to his present civilized way of living.
The poem speaker was reminded of his/her "primal youth and the beginning" through the quietness of the early to morning river and the echoing forest. While at the riverside, the poem speaker could "hear jungle drums telegraphing/the mystic rhythm..." (Line 2 & 3) and other things like panther, leopard, hunters crouching
with poised spears, etc added to his/her memory.

The poem speaker revealed in stanza 2, the effect such reminiscence brought to his/her memory of sitting "in my mother's lap a suckling", "walking simple paths with no innovations", and groping in green leaves with wild flowers in naked hurrying feet.

Complexity of the present and future

How complex, unstable and confusing the present and the upcoming future look were portrayed in the stanza 3 of the poem "Piano and Drums". As said before, Okara preferred his past life to the present that was why he symbolized his rural life with drum, a musical instrument which very easy to learn and operate while he symbolized his civilized modern lifestyle with piano and describe it as complex.

The poem speaker heard "a wailing piano" which symbolised a painful sound which "solo speaking of complex ways" (the confusing present and the unknown future) and such painful sound brought a silent cry which the poem referred to as "in tear-furrowed concerto". In spite of the pain, the poem speaker got "lost in the labyrinth of it complexities" which symbolised the confusing complexity of the future through rough(coaxing) mild(diminuendo) opposite-change(counterpoint) and tough(crescendo).

Conflit of Culture
This is a very vital theme in Piano and Drums by Gabriel Okara; it shows the speaker in the poem standing between past and present (or preferably between African and Western culture); this theme can also be called a clash of culture or cultural disparity. As mentioned earlier, the voice of the poem described his past rural African background as simple as drums beats while his present and upcoming urbanized Western lifestyle as difficult as the wailing tones of a piano. Since ways lead to ways, this theme leads to another theme known as the theme of dilemma.

Dilemma

The poem speaker concluded that he found himself/herself in dilemma "wandering in the mystic rhythm/of jungle drums and the concerto."(line 28 & 29) because he didn't know which culture to totally embrace. He preferred the simple rural life but it was also impossible to let go of the civilisation he had got unto despite it was complex and confusing.

>>> READ MORE POETIC ANALYSIS

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the candid Leo with wings flying)

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Fascination In The Poem Stanley Meets Mutesa

The Fascination:

Fascination In The Poem Stanley Meet Mutesa by David Rubadiri

The Poem:

Such a time of it they had;
The heat of the day
The chill of the night
And the mosquitoes that followed.
Such was the time and
They bound for a kingdom.

The thin weary line of carries
With tattered dirty rags to cover their backs;
The battered bulky chests
That kept on falling off their shaven heads.
Their tempers high and hot
The sun fierce and scorching
With it rose their spirits
With its fall their hopes...[Details from the Source]

The Overview:

The poem talked about a group of explorers like in the case of Mungo Park. It reproduced what came before the attainment of colonialism. The readers were shown how explorers suffered on their journey, at the end of the poem mere visit turned into colonization ("The gate of polished reed closes behind them/And the west is let in") due to the lax of the owners( Mutesa) who joyfully welcome the visitor(Stanley).

[NOTE: Have you read Jack Mapanje's When This Carnival Finally Closes]

Most readers are bound to be fascinated by the proper use of symbolism:
1 they bound for a kingdom (referring to Africa)
2 the village looked on ( village was used to show the level of African civilization)
3 the gate of polished reeds closes behind them ( referring to African architecture in the colonial era)
4 Stanley (symbolizes European) while Mutesa (symbolizes African)

[Recommended: David Rubadiri: Growing Up With Poetry Anthology]

The unequal stanzas of the poem also added a funny look to the poem which made it so fascinating not to mention the indirect reminder of historical event which the poem brought to the readers memory

There is personification in line 15 and 32
Alliteration can be found in line 9
The use of simile was present as well
The poet made use of strange language in the poem:"mtu mweupe karibu" in line 59 maybe the statement means "whiteman you are welcome" in line 60 such usage can be called vulgarism.

The Poet:

Stanley Meets Mutesa was written by David Rubadiri, a Malawian born in 1930. David Rubadiri was also the Malawi's Ambassador to the United States in the year 1964 and later year in 1967, his novel No Bride Price was published.

Other Interesting Articles:

(1) How To Understand The Anvil And The Hammer By Kofi Awoonor

(2) Analysis Of Freetown By Sly Cheney Coker

(3) Poet, Author, Critic

(4) Analysis Of Hide And Seek By Vernon Scannell

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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