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In English this term we have been looking at poetry, particularly poets who live and write about Africa.
We looked in detail at a poem by Niyi Osundare, a Nigerian poet.
The poem entitled, Not my Business explores the fears and responses to living in an oppressive society where people are subjected to beatings and even disappear.
We used the poem as a springboard to discuss bullying, the students then attempted to use some of the structural devices in Not my Business to write their own poems.
I am sure you will agree they are very powerful indeed.
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Not My Business
They picked Akanni up one morning Beat him soft like clay And stuffed him down the belly Of a waiting jeep. What business of mine is it So long they don't take the yam From my savouring mouth?
They came one night Booted the whole house awake And dragged Danladi out, Then off to a lengthy absence. What business of mine is it So long they don't take the yam From my savouring mouth? Chinwe went to work one day Only to find her job was gone: No query, no warning, no probe - Just one neat sack for a stainless record. What business of mine is it So long they don't take the yam From my savouring mouth? And then one evening As I sat down to eat my yam A knock on the door froze my hungry hand. The jeep was waiting on my bewildered lawn Waiting, waiting in its usual silence.
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She’s calling her names Like “Freckles” and “Spots” But I think she looks normal, To me. She’s calling him names Like “Lanky” and Stretch” But I think he looks normal, To me. She’s calling her names Like “Carrot Top” and “Red” But I think she looks normal, To me. Now, they’re calling her names Like “Fatty” and “Chunk” But I think she looks normal, To me
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My Blind Eye In the night they came, They came, they saw, they conquered, My blind eye Nowhere to be found, Gone as fast as he left, They came, they saw, they conquered, My blind eye His family mourned ,they weeped and weeped, A sister without a brother, a mother without a son, They came, they saw, they conquered, My blind eye They came to me, they looked at me, They came ,they saw, they conquered, A punch to my face, My blind eye.
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Not My Argument!!! They surrounded William one morning picking on him like a rubbish bin And threw out words until they sunk in. ‘What argument of mine is it so long they don’t include me in it?’ They come one afternoon disrupting the whole class And pulled out Ben, then off they went punching and punching ‘What argument of mine is it so long they don’t include me in it?’ Jim excluded from school only finding out his facebook had rather rude comments No warning, no sign, no problems ‘What argument of mine is it so long they don’t include me in it?’ And then that evening on my way home A screaming from the ally froze my heart The bully’s waiting on the top of my road, waiting, waiting, extremely, extremely happy
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