AN OAK TREE.
(Dedicated to the doyen of all literary genres, Omoseye Bolaji)
Magnetic literary gem to the living and the martyrs dead,
Unto the ebbing souls his literary works are the living bread;
Feathers he pieces of worth on the scroll of literary time,
His feather tirelessly unfolds issues that all souls prime,
Reveals through his feather all the golden illusion of our age,
Literary love his only most undisputed precious heritage.
Writ he his mind to redress the societal wrongs;
Scaring the living writer out of him critics’ failed songs,
Saluted Sir, F. S Literature on the map he put by fortitude,
He lit the torch to show us the ultimate literary latitude,
From Cape to Cairo, acclaimed, Morocco to Madagascar;
To so many readerholics he is more than a compassing star.
Mind him not the hardship-hazards of the game,
Toilest endlessly not to build for himself a good name,
He is the evening-eye that blazes a track of literary glory
A catalyst in the ignored Free State black literature’s history
Leadst us the way on the unmapped literary roads,
His substantive literary work all races alike goads,
No amount of money his priceless efforts can buy
He hath suffered in the name of literature all the way
Naught goes beyond the compass of his literary wits
pule lechesa
June 1st, 2007 at 8:44 am
Quite embarrassing.
June 1st, 2007 at 11:44 am
Well, Pule Lechesa is known as “the mighty bard from the dorp” because of his fine poetry
June 1st, 2007 at 4:23 pm
I really don’t know…I’ve never been comfortable with black African writers writing just like English poets, or trying to ape them. When I read about archaic “feathers” (for writing) it really gets my goat
June 1st, 2007 at 10:13 pm
“ape” is strong as hell word..
is that a kind of
postscript
to colonial
“amnesia”
or the seizure
of the brain freeze
of “ignorance”..
or is that too anglo
a word..
June 2nd, 2007 at 1:23 pm
Hmmm…if one wants to be a bit critical one has to accept that Mr Lechesa does not really sound like a black African poet here. he must try to develop his own authentic african voice, and such ideas/expressions, like Wally Serote, Marechera and the other poets from black Africa. And using such cliches like “Cape to Cairo” might not be the best. But he is a good poet in his own way.
June 2nd, 2007 at 4:45 pm
Come on! We are celebrating the “legend” Chief Boalji. Don’t let us focus on “technicalities” of the poem; this poem is good enough