A painful torn heart
Like a drowning man struggles
Not to sink in agony
Or if not,
It sustains
Or like a flower,
It withers and dies.
Ronald R.
Painful torn heart.
A Nigerian short story in the Anthology:When The Sun Goes Down and other stories from Africa and beyond.
Amina is a young girl who is forced into marriage by her family,with the action spearheaded by the father’s reception of 500 head of cattle from Jama’s family.
It starts with a conflict between Amina and her brother Modio.Amina wants to leave with Yalla and be his wife whilst Modio is reluctant because he envies the 500 cattle.
The Law Of The Grazing Fields had been a normality in this region and of it was the idea that a man would easily elope with a woman of his choice and as long as they run like hell and don’t get caught up,the two become husband and wife.That’s what Yalla wanted but Modio prevented it.
Modio later goes on to hold Amina hostage in his hut.But brilliant and brave Yalla sets up the hut in fire in a bid to distract Modio and his brothers,and Yalla consequently elopes with Amina on a fast moving horse.
Despite Modio’s run in an attempt to outshine Yalla,the exhaustion of the horse Amina was riding,the poisoned arrow that hit Yalla and the unfavourable scrub and rock landscape during this spirited chase, Yalla and Amina still manage to reach Yalla’s hut and in accordance with The Law Of The Grazing Fields,the two join up as husband and wife.
My take:
An intriguing and enticing narration that was!Wow think about it.Could such a rule ever survive in the world today?
I wouldn’t wish,afterall it would favour the brave and strong.
Yet the story offers its view on life’s virtues.First,the writer juxtaposes Yalla’s bravery and courage with Jama’s cowardice and Laziness,the contrast that makes Amina fall completely for Yalla.
The fight and chase that Yalla puts up is a clear sign of resilience.And amid this chase is the notion of true love.The writer proposes that love can’t be forced but is dependent on what feelings people have for each other.Amina turns down Jama’s offer despite an incredible plethora of bride price offered to her.
The writer also seems to advocate for purity,contentment and self-control.Although Jama is such a lazy coward but rich man known all over,Amina’s family are blinded by the lumpsome bride price and want to force a marriage between Amina and Jama,which was void of any traces of true love.Lust is condemned immensely.
Such an impeccable eye-catching story in an African setting built on moral values yet engulfed in tradition.Good read!
A simple poem it may be,but the theme that comes out is automatically impressive and the subject matter only doubles my thirst for broad readership of Lewin’s poems.
When I get out
Im going to ask someone
to touch me
very gently please
and slowly,
I want
to learn again
how life feels.
Iv not been touched
for seven years
for seven years
iv been untouched
out of touch
and iv learnt
to know
the meaning of
untouchable.
Untouched-not quite
I can count the things
that have touched me
one:fists
at the beginning
fierce mad fists
beating beating
till i remember
screaming
don’t touch me
please don’t touch me.
Two;paws
The first four years of paws
every day
patting paws,searching
-arms up,shoes off
legs apart
prodding paws,systematic
heavy,indifferent
probing away
all privacy.
I don’t want fists and paws
i want
to want to be touched
again
and to touch
i want to feel alive
again
i want to feel alive
again
i want to say
when i get out
here I am
please touch me.
The poet has created a persona who expresses his(her)bitterness in accordance with his detention for seven years.He has a burning desire to let go of the chains and shackles,and just relish and wallow in pure freedom.He does this in a way that triggers empathy within me,and I feel like helping the persona to give out that lamentative tone.
The word ‘touch’ dominates the poem as can be clearly seen by the repetition of it in the poem.This,the poet does,to achieve reinforcement of the theme:freedom.The persana says he wants to be touched,meaning he longs for freedom,care and love,a meaning that many could have passed it by,and consequently made wrong conclusions in association with the interpretation of the theme of the poem.
Two human needs clearly speak for themselves,privacy concerns and humanity.The persona suffers exploitation and his privacy is rudely interfered with as depicted by stanzas four and five.,yet these are human rights and any stains of impertinence or recalcitrance with regards to these rights are outlawed and the victims should simply own up but their subjection to severe torture as punishment is mundatory.
This should be a lesson to anyone with ill intentions of deliberately causing harm to others,whether physically,psychologically,spiritually or mentally,as the effects enacted to the victim,will surely be deleterious.
A simple poem it may be,but the theme that comes out is automatically impressive and the subject matter only doubles my thirst for broad readership of Lewin’s poems.
When I get out
Im going to ask someone
to touch me
very gently please
and slowly,
I want
to learn again
how life feels.
Iv not been touched
for seven years
for seven years
iv been untouched
out of touch
and iv learnt
to know
the meaning of
untouchable.
Untouched-not quite
I can count the things
that have touched me
one:fists
at the beginning
fierce mad fists
beating beating
till i remember
screaming
don’t touch me
please don’t touch me.
Two;paws
The first four years of paws
every day
patting paws,searching
-arms up,shoes off
legs apart
prodding paws,systematic
heavy,indifferent
probing away
all privacy.
I don’t want fists and paws
i want
to want to be touched
again
and to touch
i want to feel alive
again
i want to feel alive
again
i want to say
when i get out
here I am
please touch me.
The poet has created a persona who expresses his(her)bitterness in accordance with his detention for seven years.He has a burning desire to let go of the chains and shackles,and just relish and wallow in pure freedom.He does this in a way that triggers empathy within me,and I feel like helping the persona to give out that lamentative tone.
The word ‘touch’ dominates the poem as can be clearly seen by the repetition of it in the poem.This,the poet does,to achieve reinforcement of the theme:freedom.The persana says he wants to be touched,meaning he longs for freedom,care and love,a meaning that many could have passed it by,and consequently made wrong conclusions in association with the interpretation of the theme of the poem.
Two human needs clearly speak for themselves,privacy concerns and humanity.The persona suffers exploitation and his privacy is rudely interfered with as depicted by stanzas four and five.,yet these are human rights and any stains of impertinence or recalcitrance with regards to these rights are outlawed and the victims should simply own up but their subjection to severe torture as punishment is mundatory.
This should be a lesson to anyone with ill intentions of deliberately causing harm to others,whether physically,psychologically,spiritually or mentally,as the effects enacted to the victim,will surely be deleterious.
The captivating story triggers the feeling of icy tingles of fright running down your spine.Let’s have a look at it.
“let’s move on,”Templer said,dipping his paddle.As they passed a mother hippo lying in the water,her calf dozing with its chin on her back,the sun was dropping towards the tree tops.In 40 minutes,Templer knew,the group must be at the landing where a truck would take them to their hotels.McNamara bumped his kayak down a wide ledge of rock 30cm high over which the river cascaded into a pool about 60m across.Sibanda,angling into the current,was next,with Templer and then Namasango close behind.
Templer rapped on his canoe to encourage any hippos hidden below water to surface,so that the paddlers could avoid them.Suddenly,there was a noise like a thunderclap.BAM!A bull hippo hit Namasango’s canoe,throwing the back nearly a metre into the air and sending Namasango tumbling out.Templer whipped round in his seat to see the back end of Namasango’s canoe on the shoulders of a hippo-the rogue hippo.The beast opened its huge mouth,then submerged abruptly.As the canoes two remaining passengers,Grassot and Skorupka,fought to keep it level,Namasango bobbed up in the water.
Templer back-paddled his canoe towards Namasango.”Hold on,im on my way,”he yelled.Left without a paddler or spare paddle,Grassot and Skorukpa worked the water madly with their hands to get out of the huppo’s reach.Sibanda,who was now bringing up the rear,turned his canoe into the shallows a few metres away,his passengers Fischer and Lagardere scrambled onto a rocky outcrop.
Namasango reached for the side of Templer’s canoe.Templer saw the risk of being capsized at that angle.”No,come round the back,”he told Namasango.
With one stroke,Templer positioned the back of his canoe within Namasango’s reach.’The hippo wont return,’he told himself.Templer leant out of the boat,extending a hand for Namasango to grab.
Their fingers were just centimetres apart when the hippo exploded out of the water between them like a truck with its bonnet open.
My take:
It’s pretty amazing when the narrator paints in us a vivid picture of what happened in accordance with the immense and brutal attack by the hippo.Contrast comes in when we think Templer will save Namasango only for the hippo to reappear out of the blues.Dyson again leaves us in suspense when we conceptualize the kind of fight that might have ensued afterwards with the abrupt appearance of the hippo-an ordeal worth shuddering at.
The captivating story triggers the feeling of icy tingles of fright running down your spine.Let’s have a look at it.
“let’s move on,”Templer said,dipping his paddle.As they passed a mother hippo lying in the water,her calf dozing with its chin on her back,the sun was dropping towards the tree tops.In 40 minutes,Templer knew,the group must be at the landing where a truck would take them to their hotels.McNamara bumped his kayak down a wide ledge of rock 30cm high over which the river cascaded into a pool about 60m across.Sibanda,angling into the current,was next,with Templer and then Namasango close behind.
Templer rapped on his canoe to encourage any hippos hidden below water to surface,so that the paddlers could avoid them.Suddenly,there was a noise like a thunderclap.BAM!A bull hippo hit Namasango’s canoe,throwing the back nearly a metre into the air and sending Namasango tumbling out.Templer whipped round in his seat to see the back end of Namasango’s canoe on the shoulders of a hippo-the rogue hippo.The beast opened its huge mouth,then submerged abruptly.As the canoes two remaining passengers,Grassot and Skorupka,fought to keep it level,Namasango bobbed up in the water.
Templer back-paddled his canoe towards Namasango.”Hold on,im on my way,”he yelled.Left without a paddler or spare paddle,Grassot and Skorukpa worked the water madly with their hands to get out of the huppo’s reach.Sibanda,who was now bringing up the rear,turned his canoe into the shallows a few metres away,his passengers Fischer and Lagardere scrambled onto a rocky outcrop.
Namasango reached for the side of Templer’s canoe.Templer saw the risk of being capsized at that angle.”No,come round the back,”he told Namasango.
With one stroke,Templer positioned the back of his canoe within Namasango’s reach.’The hippo wont return,’he told himself.Templer leant out of the boat,extending a hand for Namasango to grab.
Their fingers were just centimetres apart when the hippo exploded out of the water between them like a truck with its bonnet open.
My take:
It’s pretty amazing when the narrator paints in us a vivid picture of what happened in accordance with the immense and brutal attack by the hippo.Contrast comes in when we think Templer will save Namasango only for the hippo to reappear out of the blues.Dyson again leaves us in suspense when we conceptualize the kind of fight that might have ensued afterwards with the abrupt appearance of the hippo-an ordeal worth shuddering at.
Kihali Says. 