Poetic-surge Poetry Appreciation Contest by @ajremy; A comprehensive break down

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This poem titled "Within Me" is composed by @eliasjay & is being appreciated by Me. You can find the link to the poetry Here

"Within Me" is a poem of three stanzas of four lines each which has a total of twelve lines in all. It makes use of literary devices such as alliteration, simile, etc. Its tone is that of sadness.

Within me can be related to colonialism in Africa. How the colonial masters came and explore all the riches of the land, enslaved the people. For instance, a situation where the blacks will trade hectares of land for a mirror and in that process, giving the Whites the sole freedom of taking over the ownership of their lands.

The poem also reveals how the whites (British) enforced slave trade as they send the blacks abroad to serve as slaves.

The first Stanza talks on the naivety of the blacks, how the diminution of their power over their land occured

Am still young as the rivers that flow

This depicts the innocence of the people and how beautiful Africa was, it was young and the people were not rich in knowledge and lacked technology.

Chasing the wild which wane

There begins the arrival of the colonial masters as they deceive the people with material things in other to overthrow their lands and valuable assets from them, the blacks chased after the things the whites brought (wild) which brings to the gradual diminution of their power and value(wane)

Though the blossom is all but show

Here reveals how contended the blacks are with the little things they are being given by the whites which was obviously visible to the whites

That which is sweet also pains

Here, the personae starts to realise that although what they are given is eye chasing(sweet)but pain is also included as they are losing their valuable assets and whites gaining more of their assets.

Stanza two talks about the hardship faced by the blacks from the colonial masters as they took all they had.

Goodness wears the garment same as darkness

The whites were seen as good people but they were wolves in sheep's clothing, behind their kindness(Goodness) lies deceit, falsehood and evil intentions (darkness).

Man tries hard but the land is barren

After realising how much they've enslaved themselves, they try to regain their stand but none was left for them as the whites had all their possessions in control

When none can, then only him can harness

Other black nations couldn't help themselves cause they've all lost everything, only a nation herself can help herself

As the sky is large, so my eyes are laden

The pain and hardship the personae is faced with is so much (The sky is large) that makes him to be weighed down and burdened (my eyes are laden)The personae here is oppressed and depressed.

Stanza three exposed how the blacks are been transported in ferries to the white countries to serve as slaves

Even as am saddled across the ferry

The personae is been transported in ferry

My sleep is sweet as the mulberry

He reminisce (sleep) on the once beautiful life he once lived, how wonderful and good it was(sweet as the mulberry)

The light of hope burn in glee

He realizes that there is no more hope of freedom for him but he could Merry and find solace (hope) in his memories of his once beautiful home

For that which I seek lives here in me

He realises that the joy and freedom he seeks is within him is the memories of his beautiful home in great savannahs.

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Thank You