Leave me with nature
let insects bite my little fingers
and sharp thorns to pierce my feet
Things you pour in me is blunt
containers brought them across seas
I can’t use them to boil yams
they tell my head not to carry water-pot
My grandfather laughs at me
when I talk like chickens
that language from school
a tongue-twisting alienator
Give me a break, teachers
teach me how to live as human
guide me how to think like a sage
What I want is to live here in Africa
not to talk like chickens to pass exams
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.