TO THE PEOPLE BY DAVID AMAKYE

To The People Poetry Review

GENRE: POETRY TITLE: TO THE PEOPLE WRITER: DAVID AMAKYE, GHANA REVIEWER: BWESIGYE LAURENT, BOTSWANA
 
"We were called by a tongue that thirsted after control, we were called into a place. We were called to a land cursed by liberation."

When did liberation start to be a curse? I was caught by this paradox, something that's so self-contradicting. Many of us know that people hunger for liberation and if it came to them they would consider it a blessing but the poet uses this paradox to express the lies that are told by power-thirsty people. They say that they want to free you but all they want to do is control you so the moment you give them power that's when you realize that they are not very different from the people they freed you from. Here liberation becomes a curse. The poet uses the symbolism of a thirsty tongue to represent the hungry desire for control by such people.

They always know what you want so they will make false promises to get you to comply with them. A promise of seeing all struggles disappear and one day to look at them as comic relief. This is what people desire so it's what they will promise them.

The poet in a hopeful tone wishes that his people never fall under this deceit and he wishes they can be able to identify the lies from the truth. "I hoped the children of this land could tell a twist in the tongue"
He tries to tell the people of the land that true power is among and within them, and if they wanted change, they can only bring about change. And it can never be too late to effect this change.

The poet wrote according to the theme properly and I would recommend it to many readers out there.