Longevity Poem by Kolawole Ajao

Longevity

Rating: 5.0


The secret of longevity seems to be in Okinawa
Where women live for a century and ten
in the least of it
But that of men is ninety and nine
Whether in Okinawa or Adelaide
Whether in Oslo or Ogbomoso or and in Minna
Whether in Okhlahoma or in Herefordshire
Whether in Hanoi or in Kumasi or The Hague
Whether in Dakar or in Dhaka
The womenfolk live longer than us.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
John Raubenheimer 25 July 2010

I like the tension, the spring in your poem, which bends more and more as you list those exotic names - then you release the spring, returning the reader to the point you made at the start. A strong poem.

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Kesav Easwaran 25 July 2010

Long live women folk! You know, in Kerala, my native state of India my Motherland, the ratio of women to men is 922 to 1000 but women fare better in longevity...less in number but more out-living! the product of the respective averages might strike a balance with other perhaps! good piece...factual and hence different...10

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Kolawole Ajao

Kolawole Ajao

Akure, Ondo State Nigeria
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