Saturday 1 June 2019

Season by Wole Soyinka


Image by Joe Pollitt from his series, 'African Graffiti | The Walls Have Ears" 2004



Poets from Biafra and Nigeria

Wole Soyinka

Season

Rust is ripeness, rust
And the wilted corn-plume;
Pollen is mating-time when swallows
Weave a dance
Of feathered arrows
Thread corn-stalks in winged
Streaks of light. And, we loved to hear
Rasps in the field, where corn leaves
Pierce like bamboo slivers.

Now, garnerers we,
Awaiting rust on tassels, draw
Long shadows from the dust, wreathe
Dry thatch in woodsmoke. Laden stalks
Ride the germ’s decay – we wait
The promise of the rust.

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