Nice one, Amy. The descriptive narration conveys a very familiar picture of the landscape and the effects of the Hamattan wind on the lifesyles of its inhabitants. I think your interlude of common local words makes the poem particualrly special and 'Gambianly'. Keep it up, You can make a great poet! Bailo >From: amy jallow <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Harmattan wind >Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2005 16:23:22 +0000 > > HARMATTAN WIND > From the north you came, draped in brown > Roaring like an old lion. > Gathered in the folds of your gown > Tiny granules of gold > Which you scatter unceremoniously > Into Subsaharan Africa > Your icy breath, shifting the landscape > And serenading willowy palmtress into > Rhythmless dances > Making it almost impossible to abandon the > Comfort of a warm bed > Heating water for bath, > The 'siwo', blackened by tongues of > Wood fire, creaks noisily on its hinges > A cirlcle of wrinkled faces > Thoughtful around a bornfire > Stretch gnarled, calloused hands > Towards the glimmering yellow center > To 'Jarue' > Warming up old bones > And reliving the glorious days of Kabu > When the Ceddos were 'Mansa' > And 'Dolo' the juice of the day > Bent figures wrapped in wollen blankets > Fighting to hold to the last vestiges > Of warmth > Scampered towards the fields > Mothers bundle up children in layers of clothing > To ward off 'Saeda' > And rub 'Karite' on young skins > To moisturize and prevent 'Mboyo' > Your dreaded companion > Mentholatum selling like hot Akara > To alleviate the symptoms of a chapped lip > School children, in arrays of sweaters > And 'windbreakers' huddle around > Bowls of steaming milky 'roi' > To warm up and nourish empty stomachs > And to be in school on time to avoid the switch > That cracks and bleeds the hands > At this time of the year > 'shameless' lovers tango in limbo > In the clutter of a one room apartment > High above, you, the Harmattan > Dance in a cloud of dust > Blanketing the whole land > In gritty fog, that swirls and > Mockingly settles on everything > Chasing everyone indoors > Thus disrupting the idyllic movement > Of a village life > > > > > > > > >___________________________________________________________ >ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - all new features - even more fun! >http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com > >いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L >Web interface >at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html > >To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: >http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l >To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: >[log in to unmask] >いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself with cool new emoticons http://www.msn.co.uk/specials/myemo いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい