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A Forlorn Mother
I took a walk on a lonely pathway
By the corner stood a massive anthill
Termites covered it in frenzy movement
I looked through the cassava stems below
There lied a long and lifeless creature
Crunched into by a nest of warrior ants
After it had swallowed a little boy
Left to play by the mother, while weeding
In the farm adjourning the river bank
Given her by late grandfather, dearly loved
Hear the wailing of an only daughter
The crying of one whose son went missing
Neighbors came to console and pray with her
Help rescue the child from calamity
With portrayals of what they thought took place
It was a ritual killing, some whispered
That grandpa took the child for a ransom
Yet no one dared venture beyond the farm
Not to the lonely pathway and massive anthill
Till stench of decay polluted the air
Comments
Ian.T
Thu, 2012-11-29 03:18
Iboro
This piece is a good write of something that happened, but it needs to be made into a poem or piece for learning or to celebrate the little life, or just to remember the boys life, bringing in the message of what, or what not to do.
Many will not understand that little body in the termite heap hidden by whatever or whoever or what the termites will do to things that have died.
I lived in Africa for many years and one place we lived had an Acacia tree in the garden, day after day more of it was disapearing under a covering of brown dry mud, the termites were claiming it as theirs..
Keep writing, Yours Ian.T
.
There are a million reasons to believe in yourself,
So find more reasons to believe in others..
t. reflexion
Wed, 2012-12-05 23:42
Thank you
I will take time to work on it and see if poetry can come out of it. Thank you and best wishes.
tr
A rekindled faith - Dancing in the Light
themoonman
Thu, 2012-12-06 04:24
hi t,
I liked the poem but it left me with questions, what
ate the boy, was it the ants or something else that
was then eaten by the ants? I think some clarity there
will help the reader to understand.
In the first stanza the grandfather is referred to as, late
and dearly loved. That to me means, departed. But then
in the second stanza there are whispers that grandpa may
have taken the child for ransom, leaves me with more
questions, same grandfather or perhaps another one,
not clear.
A sad story for sure, no one wants to find their child like
that, strong content and with a bit more clarity could improve
this piece immeasurably.
Richard
t. reflexion
Fri, 2012-12-14 17:00
Hi Richard,
Thank you very much for these observations.
A pyton swallowed the child then moved close to the ant hill to rest, when the termites came out the snake couldn't run away, the weight of the child made it difficult. The hunter became the hunted.
Quite frankly, a reader here will not query the second reference to grandpa, understandably, ghosts as people here believe, come back to do one or two things in the physical world and in the opinion of the one that wispered, it was grandpa's ghost.
Best wishes
tr
A rekindled faith - Dancing in the Light