Aaaa...Ezinma(Doughter Of Okonkwo) Poem by Nkululeko Mdudu

Aaaa...Ezinma(Doughter Of Okonkwo)

Rating: 4.9


This poem was inspired by Chinua Achebe's novel 'Things Fall Apart'


Let me grieve my father's death.

I should have been a man,
That is what he always wanted;
For woman cannot be the lords of the clan.

Then I would have been there at his side,
To fight the noble fight.
Noble men are no more,
They have all but melted into the night.

My father was one of them,
Now he is dead; as is this clan.
You say he killed himself,
At least my father died a man.

He loved this place,
But his people let him down.
Abandoning their war-like state,
And now they fail to cut him down.

'They are all cowards',
He would have said.
That is why he lay here,
Cold and Dead!

Sitll, I am a woman,
And that is all I could be.
So give my husband back his things,
I shall now marry my father's memory.

My mind is made up,
Bring me his mask and skirt of raffia;
Let me be the last man to lead Umuofia.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Lawrence Kanu 04 August 2008

Is this a copyright or originally written.

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Mark Jos'e 11 August 2008

nice poem, its staning you can write good poems keep it up.

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Tia Maria 07 August 2008

wow - this is brilliant 10/10

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Wanelisa Albert 07 August 2008

wow this an amazing piece 'My mind is made up, Bring me his mask and skirt of raffia; Let me be the last man to lead Umuofia.' Okonkwo had his weaknesses however he refused to compramise....the last verse talks to me as a woman living in Africa today...Ezinma inspires me to take my place in Leadership and to fight for the africa of our forefathers. Thank You this poem moves me

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Yonela Mali 07 August 2008

you are very smart for such a young person, i dare say that i did not know how to relate to the book before i read your piece, this is very good....nice write keep it up

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Mark Nwagwu 06 August 2008

I gave this work a 10, coming from a young person who was not yet born when Chinua Achebe's masterpiece, 'Things Fall Apart', was written. In a culture given to a male-dominated perspective of life, the introduction of Ezinma, as the daughter of Okonkwo marks a landmark event, one that would not sit well with the traditional society. This poem comes fifty years after Achebe's novel and speaks volumes of the need for change of some of our traditions, especially those realted to the roles of women in society. Still I am a woman I shall now marry my father's memory.... Let me the last man to lead Umofia. This is exactly the focus of my novel, Forever Chimes, which, I hope, will soon make its way into international awareness - a girl can inherit the most precious heirloom of the family dynasty and be the true emodiment of all that the family holds sacred and noble.

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Nkululeko Mdudu

Nkululeko Mdudu

Queenstown/ South Africa
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