Poems from Mrs. Ogega's Form 2 class, Longonot

Forefathers

Listen more often to things rather than beings
Hear the fire’s voice.
Hear the voice of water.
In the wind hear the sobbing of trees,
It is our forefathers breathing.
The dead are not gone forever.
They are in the paling shadows
And in the darkening shadows.

The dead are not beneath the ground
They are in the rustling tree,
In the murmuring wood,
In the still water,
In the flowing water,
In the lonely place in the crowd;
The dead are not dea.

Listen more often to things rather than beings.
Hear the fire’s voice.
Hear the voice of water.
In the wind hear the sobbing of the trees
It is the breathing of our forefathers
Who are not gone, not beneath the ground.Not dea.

The dead are not gone forever.
They are in a woman’s breast,
A child’s crying, a glowing ember.
They are flickering in the fire,
In the weeping plant, groaning rock,
The wooded place, the home,
The dead are not dea.

Listen more often to things rather than beings.
Hear the fire’s voice.
Hear the voice of water.
In the wind hear the sobbing of the trees
It is the breathing of our forefathers.
- Birago Diop

American Indian Prayer

When I am dead
Cry for me a little
Think of me sometimes
But not tood much
Think of me now and again
As I was in life
At some moments it’s pleasant to recall
But not for long.
Leave me in peace
And I shall leave you in peace
And while you live
Let your thoughts be with the living.
- Anon

Questions to answer (click on 'comment' below to write your answers):

1. What different instructions are given to the living through these two poems? Complete the following statements.
a)In Forefathers, we are told to….
b)Whereas in the American Indian Prayer, the speaker tells the reader to…

2.Which poem do you prefer? Give some reasons why you chose that one. Was it the ideas within it? The language? The repetition? What made you choose that poem?