‘Twas morning yet at the Wordsmith Academy
The early birds milled around eyes adreamy
Like finders keepers of a seer’s crystal ball
Mulling over the sheer serendipity of it all
The visionary lord and lady of the manor
Arms outstretched with refreshing candor
Threw the doors open till the hinges creaked
Come one, come all, the cake is baked
Written legend has it that when she landed
The one whose view on truth is open ended
The self-styled icon from the land of Odaji
She brought an overflow of negative energy
She bandied hurtful criticism with glee
Stinging her victims like the killer bee
Snuffing out dreams with bear-like paws
“I know it all,” her childish mantra was
Guilty as sin of the things she disparaged
“I can dish it but cannot take it,” she raged
Like the cure-all-medicine hawker at Mushin
She detested the taste of her own medicine
Daily she unraveled and the gods watched
As she, towards self destruction, marched
Finally, the gods resolved to send a priest
To rescue her from the grips of the beast
Petulant, she met the priest with empty hands
Flashing a toothy grin devoid of any mirth, alas!
Wet behind the ears, yet incorrigible
Nuances the priest deemed inadmissible
I will be truthful, I didn’t understand even a line.
I appreciate your honesty.
Ironically, your comment is a complement…Believe!
I trust that the “esoterically” anointed one will.
“Compliment”…dang!!! LOL
There has to be a way to edit. Help!
LOL. The ‘abstruse one’ @Kaycee, ‘The Mysterious one and Only’ on NS
I think its an adventure in the bush, but how ‘she’ was discovered by the Priest is what I don’t absolutely understand..
Honestly. I didn’t either.
I see that there will be further installations.
The story is a bit obscure, but I like the kind of Yoda/olde english manner of telling it.
Who is this wicked witch of Odaji?
Thank you, Myne!
Part 2 in a day or two.
lol @ “wicked witch”.
But do I have to ‘understand’ poetry to enjoy it?
Not all the time.
I enjoyed this piece. And I think the sequel will make it all clearer. So…
Well done in advance.
Thanks, Seun.
I’m glad you enjoyed it all the same.
The obscurity was intentional. lol!
I have submitted the sequel. It might or might not make it clearer, hopefully it would… to someone.
@Rhema: Funny enough, I enjoyed this poem even without understanding it and you know why? Its because your lines are fluid and your choice of words are like music to the ears. I like the fact that these qualities encourage me to read the poem again to understand it.
One advice though: when writing such poems, read the poem with the mindset and expectations of your intended audience and ask yourself these questions;
1. How many times do I want them (your audience) to read the poem to understand it? 2,3,4 times?
2. When they finally ‘get’ it would it have been worth their time?
3. What do I wish to gain by obscuring the meaning of the poem?
I still like your poem. Nice one.
Chemo,
Thanks.
Let me just go ahead and say that I admire the way you offer constructive criticism. Nothing brash or offensive about it. Nice.
You actually understood this poem? Wow, that makes two of you….Yep, two!
Per the three questions, I can assure you that I answered them and more before submitting this poem.
The end totally justified the means. I am satisfied.
I hope it was worth your time though, depending on your understanding of it.
Thanks, again.
Me too. The character was kinda blurry. I must confess.
No b small tin.
Still on the poem – didn’t see the obscurity.
It gave me a feel of the good ol’ poets – Wordsworth et al. Really lovely – to me. There’s always a meaning to every poem and many times what the writer projects might not be what becomes interpreted. I understood the poem very much in the sense of a narrative that is to be enjoyed with deeper layers… And I did enjoy this piece.
Come o, Rhema, sup na? How come you haven’t posted anything new in ages?
Thanks, Suedde Agema.
Glad that you saw beyond the obscurity.
Good to be back.
I hope to post something shortly.
well done like i have always said poetry is not understood in haste and you must get the full gist before you enjoy it- keep writing