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You Are To Blame Poem of African Proverbs

by praisejoe

Published July 30, 2009

You wandered far from where your corn was roasting in the fire.
When the blind man told you ‘Let’s throw stones’
you forgot he had stepped on one,
And he made you understand that
A disobedient fowl obeys in the pot of soup.
A hunter does not rub himself in oil, and sit by the fire.
You did.
You mistook the leopard’s stalk for it’s prey as cowardice,
And forgot that whenever a mice laughs at a cat,
A hole is nearby.

Now i know,
that a tree is best measured when it is cut down.
You are to Blame!
You are!
Because you knew,That if crocodiles ate their own egg,
little wonder, what they will do to the skin of a frog.

Comments & reviews · 1
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Juniper
Review
Juniper wrote a review Review · Jul 30, 2009

Hey, Joe! June here!

Haven't read anything of yours in a while. Good to see you around here. :)

I think this poem is great. There isn't much that can be changed seeing as it's built of proverbs. Your concept is nice; I like it.

See here:

And forgot that whenever a mice laughs at a cat,


Mice should be mouse here, dear.

And:

Now i know,


Capital I there. ;)

Because you knew,That if crocodiles ate their own egg,


Lowercase T in that, dear.


- -

The beginning of this poem had a rather smooth flow to it. The proverbs fit together well, and though I do think that a few lines could be reworded some for an easier reading, you did a nice job.

Towards the end, the reading became a bit choppy. I didn't think the exclamation points were necessary, and the proverbs were less alike towards the end, dear. They don't have to be alike, but in the first stanza, they were loosely connected, whereas the final stanza felt rather disconnected.

Nevertheless, Joe, you did a nice job with this poem. Keep writing-- and post more of your works 'round here. :P

June



Journeys end in lovers' meeting.
— William Shakespeare