John Pepper Clark (Abiku) Poem by African Poetry
John Pepper Clark (Abiku)
Coming and going these several seasons,
Do stay out of the baobab tree,
Follow where you please your kindred spirits
If indoors is not enough for you.
True, it leaks through the thatch
When floods brim the banks,
And the bats and owls
Often tear in at night through the eaves,
And at harmattan, the bamboo walls
Are ready tinder for the fire
That dries the fresh fish up on the rack.
Still, it’s been the healthy stock
To several fingers, to many more will be
Who reach to the sun.
No longer then bestride the threshold
But step in and stay
For good. We know the knife scars
Serrating down your back and front
Like beak of the sword-fish,
And both your ears, notched
As a bondsman to this house,
Are all relics of your first comings.
Then step in, step in and stay
For her body is tired,
Tired, her milk going sour
Where many more mouths gladden the heart.
Great poem woven in mysterious belief of Abiku. Step in, step in and stay, this sums it up.
I love that poem. It reminds me of my post primary years
Very nice poem which depicts what a typical abiku child is making the parent go through. Masterpiece from John Pepper Clark
I grow up loving this poem, I even recited it over and over again. JP Clark is a legend and was one of the beautiful minds that inspired me into poetry. Your writings will never disappear from the sands of time.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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12/11/2024 7:27:27 AM # 1.0.0
I have read this several times and the artistry of Clark still beckons for emulation