Your funeral was so quite, and small-
almost too small, it is said
for a man your stature
You must have preferred it that way
having buried so many yourself
and knowing as you did
how private grief must be
how loss remains, at the end personal
We would have sent flowers
but seeing how they had fallen
callously into disrepute
and not wanting to offend
we did not
Instead
from the garden of memory
suddenly blooming as with first rains
we plucked, with care
a rose here, an envy there, ferns,lilies
chrysanthemums
and drop by tearful drop we wove
a wreath from our personal loss
Meaning and Development of the poem,
The theme of this poem is death and immortality of man. the detail that the poet particularly observed however was fragrant of the faces of the mourners.
The dirge is one of the main poetic types of African oral traditional literature Death for the African is more than the clinical cessation of the human mechanism.
It is transformation, and a mystery which constantly contemplated and impossible to unravel. the dead, especially elders, join a galaxy of ancestors who have very strong influence on the living. the beliefs which surround death help to define the African attitude to life.
The background to this poem is the celebration of the funeral rites of the dead of a courageous and noble friend who died suddenly. it is an exceedingly moving poem whose effect is heightened by the poets adoption of the three-part movement of the traditional dirges.
The title, taken from the symbolic ceremonial utterance of the poet during funeral, announces the dominant theme of mortality in the poem which is a dirge commemorating the early ''death'' of a loved one.
The attitude is clearly articulated in the statement of vulnerability of the first stanza. the beauty of the poem lies in the way in which the idea of death is seriously suggested. the poets works work a number of images (rose, ferns, lilies, chrysanthemums drop of tears and wreath) employs a number of carefully worked out techniques to create an experience for readers
An interestingly striking feature of this poem is its structure which reinforce the meaning of the poem.
The death which the poet writes about here is, in fact symbolic not real. the poem ends on a note of resignation and with statement of the lingering sorrow which his friend's death causes. the poem's elegance is achieved through artistic control of the emotions expressed and appropriate variations in tone.
pictures source: pixabay.com
Thank you for passing by. I will appreciate more if you kindly upvote, comments and resteem for others to also read about this great poem.
poet( Kobena Eyi Acquah)
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STOPGreat poem bro...i love it
Tanx bro......it been a while though@zicodee
This is great. Beautifully written.
Thank you@khojo
The write up was superb, keep it up
Thank you