Poem: “Not My Business” by Niyi Osundare
They picked Akanni up one morning Beat him soft like clay And stuffed him down the belly Of a waiting jeep.
African Poetry
Traditional Poem: Salute to the Elephant
O elephant, huge as a hill, even in a crouching posture. O elephant, enfolded by honour, demon, flapping fans of war.
Poem: “Night Rain” by John Pepper Clark
What time of night it is I do not know Except that like some fish Doped out of the deep I have bobbed up bellywise
Poem: “The News from Home” by Kofi Anyidoho
I have not come this far only to sit by the roadside and break into tears I could have wept at home without a journey of several thorns
Poem: “Building the Nation” by Henry Barlow
Today I did my share In building the nation. I drove a Permanent Secretary To an important urgent function In fact to a luncheon at the Vic.
Poem: “An Immigrant in London” by Ezenwa-Ohaeto
I sought him in London: At Heathrow the Indian, Flips the passport pages, Scrutinizes the dated stamps, Prods me with tingling questions,
Chapter Eight Summary of “Efuru”
It is the first year, and things are going smoothly. Some people are jealous of their relationship, while others admire it.
Poem: NEPA by Niyi Osundare
The fridge is warm, the stove is cold Hunger in the house is strong and bold You come and go, you go and come
Content Analysis of Niyi Osundare’s “NEPA”
“NEPA” depicts a society where the provision of stable and uninterrupted electricity is considered too well for an undeserving citizenry.
Content Analysis of Lenrie Peters’ “The Panic of Growing Older”
“The Panic of Growing Older” by Lenrie Peters is a poem about the growing anxieties of man as he undergoes different phases in his life.
Poem: The Panic of Growing Older by Lenrie Peters
The panic of growing older spreads fluttering wings from year to year
Poem: Checkpoint by Femi Fatoba
There is always something formal Bout the barrel of a gun With its one-eyed coldness Which dares you to talk
Poem: Nightfall in Soweto by Oswald M. Mtshali
Nightfall comes like a dreaded disease seeping through the pores of a healthy body and ravaging it beyond repair.
Figures of Speech in David Rubadiri’s “Stanley Meets Mutesa”
The figures of speech in “Stanley Meets Mutesa” are simile, metaphor, alliteration, personification, synecdoche, parallelism, onomatopoeia, repetition, antithesis, and symbolism.
Content Analysis of Niyi Osundare’s “Inu Rere”
“Inu Rere” extols the virtue of good-naturedness or good conscience and draws attention to its benefits. The poem is quite conversational.
Themes in Niyi Osundare’s “The Leader and the Led”
themes in “The Leader and the Led” include the themes of followership, oppression, greediness, and male dominance.
Content Analysis of Ayi Kwei Armah’s “News”
“News” is an assessment of the several coup d’etats and attempted coups that became rife in most African countries in the first decade of their independence.
Poem: Home News by Ahmed Tidjani-Cissé
‘My dear brother it’s my sad duty to announce the death of our beloved mother Which occurred last Sunday after a short illness.’
Poem: News by Ayi Kwei Armah
Yesterday there was another attempted coup. People are still running blind targeting the latest scapeleaders
Poem: If by Jared Angira
a squirrel crosses my way while on a trip then luck is mine but when it’s a cheetah or wild cat that crosses there I turn and go back.
Poem: Songs of Sorrow by Kofi Awoonor
Dzogbese Lisa has treated me thus It has led me among the sharps of the forest Returning is not possible
Poem: The Sea Eats the Land at Home by Kofi Awoonor
At home the sea is in the town, Running in and out of the cooking places, Collecting the firewood from the hearths
Poem: The Hunger of the Suffering Man by Syl Cheney-Coker
Sweating between his fingers, the agricultural man sweating in his thorax the musician sweating in his lungs the miner
Poem: Abiku by John Pepper Clark
Coming and going these several seasons, Do stay out on the baobab tree, Follow where you please your kindred spirits
Poem: Viaticum by Birago Diop
In one of the three pots the three pots to which on certain evenings the happy souls return the serene breath of the ancestors,
Poem: Vanity by Birago Diop
If we tell, gently, gently All that we shall one day have to tell, Who then will hear our voices without laughter,
Poem: We Have Come Home by Lenrie Peters
We have come home From the bloodless war With sunken hearts Our boots full of pride – From the true massacre of the soul
Poem: Song of War by Kofi Awoonor
I shall sleep in white calico;
War has come upon the sons of men
And I shall sleep in calico;
Let the boys go forward,
Kpli and his people should go forward;
Let the white man’s guns boom,
“Phoenix” & “Lagos”: Two Poems by Adeola Adeoti
I am Adeola Adeoti, an eclectic poet and author of a collection of poems, canticles of a happy people, which has been receiving rave reviews in journals across the world.
Poem: “The Dining Table” by Gbanabom Hallowell
Dinner tonight comes with gun wounds. Our desert tongues lick the vegetable
blood—the pepper strong enough to push scorpions up our heads.