Village Poem by Jonathan ROBIN

Village



In the village life repeats
summer heats to summer heats,
season after season greets
echoes drummed, past, present beats.

Humpbacked Hippo shields kraal well
from arid winds whose whirling swell
sweep elsewhere. Meanwhile, old well
serves communal needs all tell.

In the village Life recalls
life departed in babe’s bawls,
late or early Fate’s footfalls
dog clogged soul that, sudden, stalls.

In the village cockrel calls
to score day’s dawning, frights night’s shawls,
village sorcerer enthralls
repeating spells, casts lions’ mauls.

Contentment: kraal greets far and wide
welcome harvest, wants supplied,
beer plentiful. For some inside
hunger seeds dire needs denied.

Village headman acts as guide
so those in hippo's shade abide
despite event horizons tied
to roaches, poachers, threats beside.

Much may change in world outside
strangers range from far and wide
right word's flight's heard to help decide
age arbitraged choice, voice allied
to common sense traditions tied.

In the village dust defeats
western concepts, coarse conceits.
Attempts to quantify Time’s feats
are vain, ‘tis plain that Time time cheats.

In the village time and tide
dewless baked, are thirst sun-dried.
Life and death there coincide,
enact tradition’s groom and bride.

Hippo village day and night
interleave page dark and light,
slip through space till, out of sight,
race is lost to win insight.

POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
(19 November 1995 revised 3 February 2008 and 29 May 2013)
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Spencer Zimmerman 06 August 2013

This is really good, Jonathan. Very insightful, extremely observant of life's larger picture. I was captured the entire time. Excellent!

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