“FAMINE” Poem

Read the oral poem below and then answer the questions that follows;-

“FAMINE”

    The owner of yam peels his yam in the house’s:
    A neighbour knocks at the door
    The owner of yam throws his yam in the bedroom:
    The neighbour says, “I just heard
    A sound, ‘kerekere’, that is why I came,”
    The owner of the yam replies,
    “That was nothing, I was sharpening two knives.”
    The neighbour says again, “I still heard
    Something like ‘bi’ sound behind the door.”
    The owner of the yam says,
    “I merely tried my door with a mallet.”
    The neighbour says again,
    “What about his huge fie burning on your hearth?”
    The fellow replies,
    “I am merely warming water for my bath.”
    The neighbour persist,
    “Why is your skin all white, when this is not the Harmattan season?’
    The fellow is ready with his reply,
    I was rolling on the floor when I heard the death of Agadapidi.”
    Then the neighbour says, “Peace be with you.”
    The owner of the yam start shut,
    “There cannot be peace
    Unless the owner of food is allowed to eat his own food!”

    Questions.

(a)    Briefly explain what the poem is about.  (2 marks)
(b)    What does the neighbor hope to achieve by being so persistent? (3 marks)
(c)    Using illustrations, describe any two character traits of the owner of the yam. (4 marks)
(d)    Identify the ideophones words in the poem. (2 marks)
(e)    How do we know that the neighbour is  observant? (3 marks)
(f)    Describe the tone of the owner of the yam.  (1 mark)
(g)    The neighbour says, “peace be with you.”  Why is this statement ironic? (3 marks)
(h)    What lesson can we learn from this poem? (2 marks)

Famine ANSWERS

(a)    The poem is about an encounter between two neighbours during famine.  One of them has     food that he  stubbornly refuses to share with his hungry ‘brother’.
      (b)    The neighbour hopes that by being persistent, the owner of the yam will relent and give him
some.  Although the owner denies everything, the neighbour shows him he knows that he (the owner) is refusing to own up the truth when it is so obvious.  The neighbour also hopes to prick his “friend’s” conscience.  He hopes that guilt will force the owner of the yam to share the yam.


      (c)    The owner of the yam is:-
           (i)    Mean / selfish – inspite of the efforts the neighbour makes, he refuses to share his         food.
          (ii)    Innovative /schemer / creative – He formulates quick answers to counteract what his         neighbour says.
      (d)    The ideophones words are “kerekere” and “bi”.
      (e)    The neighbour is very observant because he notices things like fire and associate it with the     meal the owner wants to prepare.  He also notices the owner’s “skin” is “all white” of course     the whiteness is from the yam peelings.  The owner of the yam refutes everything.  But the     owner is not fooled.
(f)    Bitter, dismissive – There cannot be peace …
(g)    The statement “Peace be with you” is ironic because the neighbour is probably being sarcastic.  He cannot be wishing somebody who has denied him food peace.  He has made the owner of the yam guilty.  A person with a guilty conscience is unlikely to have peace.
(h)    We learn that we should share what we have with the needy.  When we don’t, we cannot have peace with ourselves or others.