"THE SONG OF THE WOMEN OF MY LAND"
By
Oumar Farouk Sesay
Like a sculptor chipping away at bits of wood,
Time chisels away bits of their memory
It strips away lyrics of the song of the women of my land
Leaving only a fading tune echoing the song,
they sang in the forlorn fields
about their lives; songs
of how they ploughed the terrain of their landscape
for memories of lyrics lost in the vast void of time,
in those days when a song beheld their lives;
when servitude cuffed the ankles of their soul,
and dereliction decapitated the epic of their lives.
With a song, they sponged off their anguish,
to behold their collective pain,
to celebrate their gains
give lyrics to the tune of their lives,
cheat the tyranny of time
and commune with the yet unborn
to give meaning to an epoch lost in antiquity,
Yet time strips the lyrics and scars the tune
leaving a dying song.
Dead!
Like the woman who died long ago
Leaving the song to tell the Story of their lives.
Today the tune roams the forlorn fields
Like their souls looking for lyrics.
To tell the tale of the servitude
of the women of my land
Who ploughed their soil and soul
For a song to sing the story of their lives
The song of the women of my land
left in the memory of my wind.
Now feeding the verses of poets, it echoes in
Wriggling in rhythms and melodies,
Hollering in distant tunes
In places far afield the forlorn fields,
where the song of their lives died.
The stuttering lips of my pen
And the screeching voice of my rib
try to sing the song of the women of my land
In verses far from the theatre of toil
where they left a song that now roams the land
stripped of lyrics like a scorned ghost.
The tune tuning the tenor of my verse
is all that remains of
the song of the women of my land
Who laboured and died leaving a dying song.
The dirge of their lives!
Line by line analysis of the poem
"Like a sculptor chipping away at bits of wood,
Time chisels away bits of their memory"
This opening simile compares time to a sculptor, gradually eroding the memory of the women of the land, much like a sculptor chips away at wood to create a sculpture. It sets the tone for the poem's exploration of memory and the passage of time.
"It strips away lyrics of the song of the women of my land
Leaving only a fading tune echoing the song,"
Here, the poet suggests that time gradually erases the specific details (lyrics) of the women's songs, leaving only a vague memory (fading tune) of the songs they once sang.
"they sang in the forlorn fields
about their lives; songs
of how they ploughed the terrain of their landscape"
This stanza describes the content of the women's songs, which often revolved around their daily lives, particularly their struggles and efforts in working the land (ploughing the terrain).
"for memories of lyrics lost in the vast void of time,
in those days when a song beheld their lives;"
Here, the poet laments the loss of the specific lyrics of the women's songs, which are now lost to the passage of time. The songs once held the essence of their lives, but now that essence is fading.
"when servitude cuffed the ankles of their soul,
and dereliction decapitated the epic of their lives."
This stanza highlights the themes of servitude and neglect that characterized the lives of these women, suggesting that their souls were constrained by servitude and their life stories were truncated by neglect.
"With a song, they sponged off their anguish,
to behold their collective pain,"
The women used their songs as a way to express and alleviate their suffering, allowing them to confront their pain collectively.
"to celebrate their gains
give lyrics to the tune of their lives,"
In addition to expressing their pain, the women's songs also served as a means of celebrating their successes and joys, giving voice to the story of their lives.
"cheat the tyranny of time
and commune with the yet unborn"
The women's songs allowed them to defy the limitations of time, connecting them with future generations and ensuring that their stories would be remembered.
"to give meaning to an epoch lost in antiquity,"
The women's songs gave meaning to their era, which is now distant in time (antiquity), ensuring that their experiences and struggles would not be forgotten.
"Yet time strips the lyrics and scars the tune
leaving a dying song."
Despite their efforts to preserve their stories through song, time ultimately erodes the specifics of their songs, leaving only a vague memory (dying song) of what once was.
"Dead!
Like the woman who died long ago
Leaving the song to tell the Story of their lives."
The poet metaphorically compares the dying song to a woman who has passed away, leaving behind only the song to tell the story of her life and the lives of others like her.
"Today the tune roams the forlorn fields
Like their souls looking for lyrics."
Now, the vague tune of the women's songs wanders through the deserted fields, much like their souls searching for the lost lyrics of their songs.
"To tell the tale of the servitude
of the women of my land"
The purpose of the wandering tune is to recount the story of the women's servitude, ensuring that their struggles are not forgotten.
"Who ploughed their soil and soul
For a song to sing the story of their lives"
The women worked tirelessly (ploughed their soil and soul) in the hope of creating a song that would convey the story of their lives and experiences.
"The song of the women of my land
left in the memory of my wind."
The poet suggests that the essence of the women's song remains in the land itself, carried by the wind and remembered by those who listen.
"Now feeding the verses of poets, it echoes in
Wriggling in rhythms and melodies,"
The poet reflects on how the songs of the women now inspire modern poets, their essence echoing in the verses and rhythms of contemporary poetry.
"Hollering in distant tunes
In places far afield the forlorn fields,"
The women's songs echo in distant places, far from the original forlorn fields where they were first sung, demonstrating the enduring nature of their stories.
"where the song of their lives died."
Despite the continued echoes of their songs, the original songs of the women have been lost to time and neglect, symbolizing the loss of their stories and experiences.
"The stuttering lips of my pen
And the screeching voice of my rib
try to sing the song of the women of my land"
The poet expresses his own struggle to capture the essence of the women's songs through his writing, using vivid imagery to convey the difficulty of this task.
"In verses far from the theatre of toil
where they left a song that now roams the land"
The poet acknowledges that his verses are far removed from the struggles and hardships (theatre of toil) experienced by the women, whose songs now wander the land as a fading memory.
"stripped of lyrics like a scorned ghost."
The poet compares the fading song to a ghost that has been rejected or scorned, emphasizing the loss and abandonment of the women's stories.
"The tune tuning the tenor of my verse
is all that remains of the song of the women of my land"
The only thing that remains of the women's song is the vague tune that inspires the poet's writing, suggesting that their stories are in danger of being forgotten.
"Who laboured and died leaving a dying song."
The poem concludes by emphasizing the labor and sacrifice of the women, who worked tirelessly and ultimately passed away, leaving behind only their fading song as a testament to their lives and experiences.
"The dirge of their lives!"
The final line describes the women's song as a dirge, a mournful song typically associated with death, emphasizing the somber tone of the poem and the loss of the women's stories.
Overall Analysis of the poem
Comments
Post a Comment