What is a poem

A poem is a piece of writing in which the expression of

feelings and ideas is given intensity by particular attention to
diction (sometimes involving rhyme), rhythm, and imagery.
Poem
(ˈpoʊəm ) noun.an arrangement of words written or spoken:
traditionally a rhythmical composition, sometimes rhymed,
expressing experiences, ideas, or emotions in a style more
concentrated, imaginative, and powerful than that of ordinary
speech or prose: some poems are in meter, some in free verse.
An example of a poem is the children's rhyme, Mary Had a
Little Lamb.
(2) Using the poem abiku by wale Soyinka analyse the following:
(i). theme
(ii). tone
(iii). the figure of speech used in the poem
(iv). suggest a suitable tittle for the poem
Abiku

In vain your bangles cast

Charmed circles at my feet
I am Abiku, calling for the first
And the repeated time.

Must I weep for goats and cowries

For palm oil and the sprinkled ash?
Yams do not sprout in amulets
To earth Abiku's limbs.

So when the snail is burnt in its shell,

When the heated fragment, brand me
Deeply on the breast – you must know him
When Abiku calls again.

I am the squirrel teeth, cracked

The riddle of the palm; remember
This, and dig me deeper still into
The god's swollen foot.

Once and the repeated time, ageless

Though I puke, and when you pour
Libations, each finger points me near
The way I came, where

The ground is wet with mourning

White dew suckles flesh-birds
Evening befriends the spider, trapping
Flies in wine-froth;
Night, and Abiku sucks the oil
From lamps. Mothers! I'd be the
Suppliant snake coiled on the doorstep
Yours the killing cry.

The ripest foot was saddest;

Where I crept, the warmth was cloying.
In silence of webs, Abiku moans, shaping
Mounds from the yolk.

— Wole Soyinka

(i)theme
The notable themes in the poem are themes, of torture, poverty and theme of
Abiku myth. J.P. clerk explore the African cultural belief of a spirit child who is
believed to die young and be re-born by the same women over and over and again.
(ii)tone
From the tone of Abiku we know that he is addressing his parents. He tells them
that they are wasting their time by trying to make him stay. This poem vividly portrays the
futility of life, meaning that man's effort to avoid death is futile and man is a vain person. The
dominant mood of the poem is pride.

(iii)the figure of speech used in the poem

The figures of speech are Metaphor, Synecdoche, Hyperbola, Personification

and Paradox. In the second poem, that is 'Night' are Metaphor, Hyperbole and
Simile.
(iv)suggest a suitable tittle for the poem
Another tittle for Abiku would be called Wanderer child
References
1.  Mobolade, Timothy (September 1, 1973). "The
Concept of Abiku". African Arts. UCLA James S.
Coleman African Studies Center.  7  (1): 62–
64.  doi:10.2307/3334754. JSTOR  3334754.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b "Histories of Errancy Oral Yoruba
Àbíkú Texts and Soyinka's "Abiku"".
Retrieved October 16, 2016.
3. ^ "Abiku - mythical
creature". mythicalcreatureslist.com. Archived
from the original  on October 25, 2016.
Retrieved October 25, 2016.
4.  "Wole Soyinka (Abiku) Poem by African Poems -
Poem Hunter". PoemHunter.com.
Retrieved October 25, 2016.