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‘The Invitation’ (& 5 Other Poems)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2020

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Summary

Go and tell the termites

At Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah

That in this land, they will have might.

They will be kings and queens overnight.

They will not live in the savannah anymore.

They will live in castles and palaces.

Go and tell them that food will be no issue.

Tell them that they shall not feed

On the sickly slender blades of grass in the savannah

And risk their lives

When Makaya comes with his hoe and army of chicks.

Tell them to sharpen their teeth.

Here they will eat like kings and queens.

And indeed, they will eat for free.

They will have huge wood houses for food.

And the squirrel,

The poor bony African squirrel

Weary of countless near escapes,

Tell him that this land is his

To get his papers ready.

Tell him this land is a land of promise

That in this land he is a pet

Tell him he will need no diversity immigrant visa

This invitation is enough.

But please forget not to tell him

To get a copy of

What Every Pedestrian Must Know

Then and only then will he make sure

Ford and Chevrolet will not eat him raw.

THE WEATHER

Like life, like weather

Cold

Chilly

Frozen

As the life around

Life without

Colors

Rhythm

Laughter

Dance

Life that freezes out of lack of

Love

Solidarity

This weather could not survive

Under the cheerful warm African sky

Where the black color gives warmth

And human warmth

Is enough to melt a two feet deep snow.

LOOK

Look!

If you cannot see, my brother

You might surely have opened your eyes too wide.

Try closing your eyes

And look at your fellow brother

With your heart's eyes.

Shut your ears

And listen to his heartbeat

With your heart.

Let your dungeon shake

Dare give it a thought

And you will feel the pain

Your brother felt when

The other day you told him MOCKINGLY that

Ten PERSONS and three Blacks died in the accident.

Look, my brother!

Humanity is far beyond what our own blind eyes can see.

RESURRECTION

The other day

I met the ghost of my deceased love

At the Applewood.

Type
Chapter
Information
ALT 37
African Literature Today
, pp. 187 - 191
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Print publication year: 2019

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