These poems were sent to us by:

ZEITA DAMBOBIA

ARMED FORCE SECONDARY TECHNICAL SCHOOL

UADDARA BARRACKS

KUMASI

GHANA

WEST AFRICA

THE CATHEDRAL

by Kofi Awoonor

On this dirty patch
A tree once stood
Shedding incense on the infant corn:
Its bough stretched across a heaven
Brightened by the last fires of a tribe.
They brought surveyors and builders
Who cut that tree
Planting in its place
A huge senseless cathedral of doom

comment:

I like this poem because, it gives me a gist on how Christianity came about or how foreigners came and used force to implant their own religion and practices.

interpretation:

This poem expresses in a compact and persuasive way disapproval of a change from a complex life of Africa's past to more modern environment and practices. The cathedral is taken to symbolize not only foreign (and therefore empty and meaningless) religious practices. But other change that accompany the interruption of spiritual and commonly shared experience of a people.

THE DRY SEASON

by Kwasi Brew

The year is withering: the wind
Blows down the leave
Men stand under caves
And overhead the scrates
Of the cold dry wind
Of the half-bare trees

the grasses are tall and tinted
Straw gold hues of dryness
And the contradicting a wryness
Of the dusty roads scatter
With the peals of colourful leaves
With ghosts of the dreaming year

And soon, soon the fires
The fires will begin to burn.
The hawk will flutter and turn
On it's wings and swoop for the mouse
The dogs will run for the hare
The hare for its little life

comment:

This poem is to my liking because it is talking about the real life of human beings

interpretation:

This is a simple descriptive poem in which carefully observed details are brought together to present a piece of landscape pointing of a unified colour. Each stanza of the poem provides a particular stroke of the brush different from the others and yet related to them

The first stanza, dominated by repeated and echoed sounds, concentrated on the whispering wind and created a strong feeling of life drawing to a close. There is and emphasis on dryness, bareness and withering. Simple, direct statements land the stanza a subdue tone.

The second stanza makes its appeals to sense of sight and by evoking a rich and colourful scene, creates an impression of life amidst the dying year.

The third stanza begins on a note of excitement as the result of a few repeated or emphatic words. There is a tremendous activity in contract to the end of life feeling of previous two stanzas, but gradually this activity is reconciled with the sense of reduces totality that pervades both the season and the landscape. The last two lines of the poem sum up the overall colouring.

A SCANDAL ON THE HEAD

by Kwasi Brew

The broken bone cannot be made whole
The strong has sheltered in their strength
The swift have sough life in their speed
The cripple and the tired heaped out of the way onto the ant hills
Had been, bit by bit, half eaten by termites

The rough and ready were beginning
To tire of dancing to that one
Strange unfamiliar tune
The master of the house cracked his whip
In the realm of laughter and light
And mopped his brow with a silken cloth

It is only gods who know
Why the bones are broken

It is only the old who know why
The gods skip homeward at evening
And the master of the house
Now the master of rags
Stay behind on the rocks
to rummage in the rubbish heap
For castaway morsels of power

comment:

This poem gives me a gist on hoe some people climb the ladder to the top position but fall within a twinkle of an eye through their carelessness.

interpretation:

This poem tells us about he overthrow of a political power, thus a ruling government. The first stanza talks about people living in the society And here they are four groups thus, the swift, strong, cripple and the tired. This group comprise the rich and the poor.

Stanza two, talks about how the supporters of the ruler are tired of his style of ruling.

Stanza three talks about the ruler living in affluence and even whipping his face with a silken cloth

Stanza four says the events taken place is not to the understanding of man but the gods alone can explain why

The last stanza, introduces us to the attempt being made by the depose ruler to regain the power he has previously last as he tend to become the master of rags.

THE MESH

by Kwesi Brew

We have come to a cross-road
And I must either leave of come with you.
I lingered over the choice
But in the darkness of my doubts
You lifted the lamp of love
And I saw in your face
The road that I should take.

comment:

I like this poem "The Mesh" by Kwesi Brew, because it portrays the state that people normally go through when it comes to Love affairs especially marraige.
Most of the people, no matter of colour or race can experience this situation.

What interests me the most is the title - THE MESH. The word 'mesh' means something which is entangled and the poem shows that , the poet was really in an entangled situation.

interpretation:

The poem particularly captures the moment of certainty and assurance when love is naturally given and accepted.

The poem which is a one-stanza poem talks about two lovers, where one proposed love to the other. The other partner kept the proposer in suspense for some time until a sign was shown to him for assurance;
'And I saw in you face
The road that I should take.'

The poet has a message in every verse in the stanza.

In Verse One; 'We have come to a cross-road'
The poet or the persona was in the state of confusion. The poet did not know whether the partner would accept the proposal or not. He/she was thinking but did not know what to do.

Verse Two ; 'And I must either leave or come with you'
also shows a state of indicision. Here she/he did not know whether to continue with the proposal or leave the whole issue aside.

In Verse Three 'I lingered over my choice'
the poet is thinking pondering over the Love problem which had entangled him and did not know how to solve it.

Verse Four; 'But in the darkness of my doubt'
He was at the climax of thinking and anything could have happened to him at this point. This shows that Love has power to controll the minds of people.

Verse Five; 'You lifted the lamp of love'
Thios verse show that an assurance has been given to the poet. A green light had been given which would help him to take a decision.

Verses Six & Seven; 'And I saw in your face
The road that I should take'

These two lines show that the poet had now been able to take a final decision.

Great thanks also to:
Agnes Asamoah-Duodu (teacher)
Armed Forces Secondary Technical School
Kumasi
Ghana - West Africa