The poem “A Hole in the Sky” is Niyi Osundare commentary on the current ecological status of mother Earth. He often views the world as something we humans have neglected, and how we mustn’t underrate our part in the destruction of our own land. He states “don’t cover it’s scars with pretty words” (Stanza I. Line 6). He urges us as humans to fess up to what we have done, take ownership of our carelessness, and defilement this gift Earth. Often times, because it’s underneath us, or so apart of our daily lives, we tend to forget that Earth itself is a being, is an entity that too needs proper resources to survive.
This theme of being neglectful of our resources, and forgetting not everything is everlasting is seen in the destruction of many wild animals in the US, specifically Buffalo. In this video it describes the reasons as to why the useful animals source died out. It died out simply because Americans (non-native) wanted to mobilize the west. Non natives found no reason to keep Buffalo. They were a disturbance to business, basically a nuisance. They didn’t think of the natives who cherished and understood the value of the buffalo. Instead they were hunted, similar to cattle, with no recourse for what it might to do other humans, or the animal kingdom in which it preside in. Niyi Osundare poem is a great description of how we as humans take for granted gifts that are given to us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pODHzjpC9k
1 response so far ↓
JMERLE // Nov 30th 2015 at 1:26 pm
Erica,
This is a very rich quote, which gets to the core of much of what Osundare is exploring. Yes, Osundare is accusing many of us of covering up the truth with “pretty words.” Your reference for this problem in our own country is quite telling (and appropriate). We’ll discuss this issue more when we’re together in class.