Letter To Oakland
The letter was pasted in the far side of the county.
Yes; it had the unmistakable seal of the king
The people gathered around, reading with anxiety
Many instantly giving friends on holiday a ring.
It was as though a war cry had been called.
Time flew faster than normal or so they thought.
The village audit flooded with paper shields and pen swords.
It would soon be time to put to test the skills they were taught.
The gods,some of whom had taken the form of tutors joked, their hearts, stone cold.
For really it was their turn to laugh and why?
Their merchandise previously despised had shone.
The villagers can now say had I known as tears they cry.
The wise amongst the villagers took no part in this drama.
Their trenches built a long time before the rain started it's banter.
With thanks and appreciation to God for karma,
They treated the exam timetable like any other letter.
Anene Ebubechukwu Anthony
#ANSAPOETOFTHEWEEKCONTEST
A Review of "Letter to Oakland" Written by Anene Ebubechukwu Anthony.
The poem, "Letter to Oakland" is an allegoric poem that gives a picture of the academic process.
The poem opens with a letter by a "king" which we can say is the authority of an academic community, the product of this is that an academic year begins. Later on, exam papers is served, as is usual with the academic system, the unprepared ones cries while those who are prepared welcomes the exams with a sense of happiness because of "their trenches built a long time before the rain started it's banter."
I'm the poem "Letter to Oakland" written by Anene Ebubechukwu Anthony, we see the importance of preparation. We see that the arrival of exam papers meet two sets of people differently. The prepared ones who utilized the learning period to equip themselves for the exams had no worry but the opposite is the case for the unprepared.
The subject matter of the poem is preparation. The themes of the poem include: time, information, joy, worry.
Recommendation:
The fourth line of stanza 3 is ungrammatical. The idea that " ... tears they cried" is faulty in its syntax. I recommend that tears be removed from that line.
The thought in the first line of the second stanza should not carry a full stop, a comma should replace it. Reason being that the thought coheres with the third line. A comma should be placed after the first and second line.
Lawal Eneye.