PEANUTS OF THE PAST:
PREVIOUS COMMENTS FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY!

This week's poem: "IF YOU MEET ME"

Author: Padmore Agbemabiese
Copyright notice: (c) I hereby indicate that this poem is my own creation.
Poets Niche Group #7

IF YOU MEET ME

If you meet me sitting
quietly, counting fingers by the moon
like the chicken pecking bones
in the pain of winter
don't think I need your tears

if you meet me sitting
quietly, bathing in streams of thought
like sad blues from the gallows
like screams searching heaven
don't ever think I worship your name

all these pains of drought
all these smiles of dying leaves
all these screams of a corrugated breath--
wet blankets of colored birds
stretching into dawns

they are absorbing the day's heat
they are gathering screams from the village
laughing softly at your imperial dreams
with their hungry swords they will empty
the grief carried long by all prison-drowned spirits

and if you meet me again sitting
quietly, whispering words on the back
of the Wind don't think
I am roasting dreams
I am claiming the sky like a Bird.

PADMORE AGBEMABIESE ~~~~~

Comments from the poet(s):
"This poem speaks to me of a silent hope, nurtured in the face of defiance by a people long lost under the weight of servitude, and nameless pain. Every whisper in the words is a lion's roar in the ears of those whose joy it is to make others suffer. In every space of the world Blacks are confronted with dimensions of themselves they did not believe could be theirs. The poem speaks of the eternal burden of generations coming to the edge of endurance, and so from the villages they are gathering booming hopes into a single destiny to 'claim the sky like a Bird'."

Here were some of the comments received from the Peanut Gallery:

Commentary by: bams

When I first joined the Poets Niche last September, there were three people I "hooked up" with immediately; Padmore was the first of them. The first poem of his that I read, knocked me out. His work, to me, is on a different level, one shared by the famous poets whose work we all read about in Literature class as we were growing up. I know I have the same letters on my keyboard that he has on his, but damnifi can combine them like he does! Padmore's verbiage and phrasing evokes images of the Mother Africa that I daydream of; of a nobel people who were not Slaves but were forced into the condition of slavery, and who preservered against all odds; and of situation faced by our culture, today, that will make or break us. And a common thread throughout Padmore's writing is that, pat as it may sound, we *shall* overcome. "If you see me" certainly fits within this trend. The imagery in "all these pains of drought/all these smiles of dying leaves/all these screams of a corrugated breath" is exceedingly strong, and makes me long for words big enough to divulge the depth of feeling it brings. And, given the way I'm feeling lately about dreams, the stanza "and if you meet me again sitting/quietly, whispering words on the back of the Wind don't think/I am roasting dreams/I am claiming the sky like a Bird", simply floors me. I admit it: I sit in awe of the skill and expressive nature of Padmore; I wanna write like him when I grow up. In a word, the brother is not just baaaad, he is Cool. As I feared it might, the time span between MotWRC has contributed to the dearth of volume of commentators for Padmore's work. But, as is his way, Peanut Gallery "regular" Shaun Cecil comes to save the day; and joining him this week is none other than moni "the friendly helpful person" Blache:

------ Comment submitted by: Shaun Cecil

I cannot claim to be a critic. But I know when something strikes me and makes me come back to look again. I have probably read this poem twenty times, I keep coming back to the images that are drawn. I really like the "wet blankets of colored birds" and the "roasting dreams.." Granted, I am picking phrases and losing the flavor of the whole...but I am not, I just like how the flavor is built not of one overpowering piece of chocolate, but of a bit of caramel, a bit of vanilla, some bitter chocolate...all leading to the ending that is the grand finale of "claiming the sky..."

------ Comment submitted by: moni

After reading "IF YOU MEET ME" several times, it spoke to me on several different levels: 1) Padmore's personal struggle as a Ghanaian "MAN" even in the 90's, and his right to be treated equally and with dignity regardless of where he lays his dreams down at night; 2) Male and female relationships--finding the right person and the pain and hope one goes through searching for love; and 3) On a more personal note, "If you meet me sitting...don't think I need your tears; "if you meet me sitting quietly...don't ever think I worship your name; "and if you meet me again sitting...I am claiming the sky like a Bird," symbolizes freedom [please have no pity for ME, because I may be sitting now, but the next time you see/meet me, you'll have to look so high, I'll be in the clouds!!] Thanks Padmore!!

Final word from bams:

I thank Padmore for his poetic contribution, and Shaun for his tasty critique (and if you see me smiling, Shaun, it's because I disagree with you; you *can* claim to be a critic. One glance at the Gallery archive says so...), as well as Moni for "bringing it home".