Poetry plays an
important role in so many ways. In times of war, upon the hour of sorrow or at
a much happier occasion. Such poetry, or should we say poetic utterances, abound
in Papua New Guinea. Poems by Papua New Guineans wishing to reflect upon all
that is happening around them in their country. Whether it is about the persona
relaxing along the shorelines of a rural setting, or the plight of women
throughout the country, or simply Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s visit to Papua
New Guinea, these utterances come to us as strikingly gentle as ever. Each one
calls for attentive reading, its sense of humor, its sense of melancholy or
foreboding, and it is well that Papua New Guinea poetry overall should sound
that way.
We bring to our
readers a special poem for an important occasion, and that is the National Haus
Krai of May 15th, commemorating in total grievance the lives of
those women lost upon our own shores and due to certain social ills that a government
makes itself too powerless to control. The poem is “Thoughts of an Old One” by
Seli Garap. We are pleased to re-print the full text of the poem here, with the
author’s kind permission.
THOUGHTS OF AN
OLD ONE
I
am an antique, an artifact
My
kind are rarely reared, a fact
In
a society, to love and protect
In
my time, mothers to Respect
My
era, safety for women but perfect
In
this day and age of disrespect
The
western influence side-effect
Now
my granddaughters I must over-protect
Society’s
willful neglect?
Let
us with our forefathers’ values resurrect
Let
the National Haus Krai take effect
Let
not in vain be the lives wrecked
Papua
New Guinea let us unite and reflect
Long
have we slept and our women wept
“Women
Arise” PNG , stand up tall, not to accept
OTHER
POEMS OF NOTE THIS MONTH
Prosing
A While
I
woke up by the sleeping seas
In
a hut under a coconut tree
Listening
to the waves calling my name
The
daylights were slowly waking too
I
reached out for my pen on the coconut mat
An
began to pour out my dream
On
a leaf of a dirty old paper
Stretched
a tired arm
Yawned
a baby’s yawn
And
smiled my sleepiness away
The
sun would shine
Oh
yes it will
The
Lord gives with reason
Then
the birds started to sing
Such
glorious tunes never heard before
Danced
on the branches nearby
Joy
Danced
on the branches nearby
Joy
Yes
I felt joy
Peace
Yes
I was at peace
By
Marie-Rose Sau
Untitled
Look
into my eyes
Far
across the skies
The
frequency ties
Come
look into my eyes
There’s
no surprise
We
cannot disguise
Chemistry
may not be wise
Just
look into my eyes
Desire
burns and fires
A
thousand replies
Let
me surmise
I
will devise
A
plan wise
You
will look into my eyes…
By
Seli Garap
HAIKU
Red-head
chick arrives
A
big splash in the water!
Roads
temporarily sealed
By
John Vada
Prayer
I’d
rather ride the six-foot wave out there
Than
be intimidated by its roar
As
it crashes on the beach here
So
master of the wild billows
Teach
me to swim out there
Beyond
the shallows
By
Steven-Senior Ilave
In
reply to “Prayer”
Calm
the waves
O
master of wild billows
For
ocean waves rage all over me
Throw
me a lifeline
The
peaceful shallows
May
my feet rest!
By
Roslyn PuruPuru
We
thank the authors for their kind permission to reproduce their work here. All
copyright including world rights remain with the individual poets represented
above.
