Stanza 8 Line 14
“Once Upon A Time”
Hole in the Sky is a poem by Niyi Osundare that addresses the environmental problems that plagues the earth. The use of the phrase “once upon a time” is one of the most eye opening lines in the poem to me (8.14). That particular phrase is most commonly used in the opening of fairy tales and ends with the line “and they all lived happily ever after.” With that being said, the use of such a phrase shouldn’t be connected to such a poem like Osundare’s. All of the environmental problems that are plaguing the earth makes the earth from yester-year a thing of the past, hence his use of the phrase one upon a time. The earth now isn’t what it use the be. In using once upon a time, hopefulness can also be seen. Knowing that we’re all suppose to live happily ever after, the earth now, with change, can become a thing of the past. With change, we can correct the environmental issues and these issues can be referred to as in the future as “once upon a time”.
“Once upon a Time.” TheFreeDictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
1 response so far ↓
JMERLE // Nov 30th 2015 at 11:43 am
Alyshia, this is a really nice interpretation of that phrase. Some people might see the use of “once upon a time” as really very pessimistic (even Nihilistic) as, in one sense at least, Osundare seems to be thinking the Earth as a beautiful, healthy place existed only in a fairytale like past. Your idea, though, that he is hopeful, is quite appropriately. In the end, however negative Osundare is, he is certainly not (I think) a Nihilist, and he is certainly using his poetry as activism for change.