"Praise Song for My Mother" is a poem by Grace Nichols. Nichols was born in Guyana in 1950 and emigrated to the UK in 1977. Grace Nichols is a highly acclaimed poet. This poem is from her 2010 collection titled I Have Crossed an Ocean: Selected Poems.
What is a praise song?
Praise songs are among the most common poetic forms in African literature.
The praise songs are usually about gods, men, animals, plants, and towns, and they try to capture the essence of the object being praised.
Praise Song for My Mother
You were
water to me
deep and bold and fathoming
You were
moon's eye to me
pull and grained and mantling
You were
sunrise to me
rise and warm and streaming
You were
the fish's red gill to me
the flame tree's spread to me
the crab's leg/the fried plantain smell
replenishing replenishing
Go to your wide futures, you said
Copyright © Grace Nichols,
Bloodaxe Books, www.bloodaxebooks.com
Relatert innhold
Begrenset brukSkrevet av Grace Nichols. Rettighetshaver: Bloodaxe Books
Sist faglig oppdatert 15.10.2020