HOMELESS NOT HOPELESS – SOLA OWONIBI
We are the natives of the street
Holed-up under the bridges
We are necessary
We are part of your existence
Major fragments of the globe
As the day chameleons to night
You slump in the warmth of your beds and the heat of loved ones
We also embrace the cozy
Cardboard beds lain on stinks
As the night infects us with cool breeze
And endurances
We sleep and dream
And have conferences with
The indigenes of the elusive world when it’s day, in bundle
We pack our belongings
And move on with our days
Standings, kneeling and bending
To beg for alms just for the day
Necessary part of your society
Translators of your burdens
Angels’ we open fates
Of your blessings
We are the lack
That take your lack
That take your lack
We are the lack
We are homeless; not hopeless
This makes us rile at hereafter
When death opens the gate
To the second phase.
BACKGROUND OF THE POET
Sosa Owonibi attended Obafemi Awolowo University’Ile-ife’ Nigeria where
he got his first and second degrees in English. Hi is presently a doctorate student at
the University of Ibadan. He is a playwright and poet. He is a staunch member of
Association of Nigerian Authors (A.N.A)
COTENT ANALYSES: “Homeless, not Hopeless” is a vivid description of two
kinds of people who are in the society. The rich are in minority and the beggars are
in majority. The beggars are poor. Homeless and are subjected goodies in the
society. The relationship between these two classes of people are from the rick for
sustenance. The rich who are ambitious, suffering from strange illness, awaiting
judgment in the law court or war promotion in their working place give alms to the
baggers so that they can receive beggars’ prayers which place, give alms to the
baggers so that they can receive beggars’ prayers which will open doors of
blessings for them. The beggars in turn need the alms from the rich so that they can
continue to live and not die of starvation. This is also the thematic thrusts of
Aminato Sow fall’s novel, the beggar’s strike
The poem begins with the poet saying that the beggars who are in majority
are homeless, their only domicile is the street. Though the beggars are important
members of the society, they do not have house to sleep in at night. They sleep
under bridges. The beggars use cardboards as bed in stinky places while the night
injects cool breeze and endurance on them. When they sleep and dream at night,
they are attacked by armed robbers. “The indigenes of the elusive world” who cart
away their wares and money, living them empty. Meanwhile their rich counterparts
in the same society sleep in warm beds with their loved ones
The poet goes further to describe how the beggars live during the day. At
dawn, the beggars who are wanderers pack their belongings and move on with the
day. They stand, kneel, and bend and beg for alms so that they can continue to live
on earth. The poet is quick to say that beggars play a vital role in the society.
Problem and lack are not only peculiar to the beggars who are poor. The rich also
have their problems. Their problems range from strange illness, barrenness, court
cases, insomnia, psychological problem, the desire to have more money to political
power. Whenever the rich give alms to the beggars, their burden is taken away
from them. And their dreams, hopes and aspirations come to reality. This propels
the poet to call the beggars “angels “who open the gates of blessing s for the rich.
Though the beggars are always in lack, when the rich who also have various kinds
of problems (lack) give alms to the beggars, the calamities which have befallen the
rich will be abated. “We are the lack / that take your lack”
Lastly, the poet says that though the beggars are poor and homeless, they are
not hopeless. They are optimistic that one day, their harrowing condition will
change to a better one. They are undaunted despite their physical and
psychological problems. The beggars’ resilient posture gives them hope and is
against them. Thus, it “riles” (annoys) them when death comes and cuts short their
lives span.
“This makes us rile at hereafter
When death opens the gate
To the second phase”
POETIC DEVICES: the poetic devices in the poem are Alliteration, Metaphors,
Repetition, Antitheses, personification and Paradox.
METAPHOR
“As the day chameleons tonight “
“Angels we open gates”
Alliteration
“As the day chameleons tonight”
“You slump in the warmth of your beds”
“To big for alms just for the day”
“We are homeless not hopeless”
Repetition
(i)
“gate “ is repeated in lines twenty-four and thirty
(ii) “lack” is repeated in lines twenty-six and twenty-seven
(iii) “day” is repeated in lines six, seven, eighteen and twenty
Personification
“As the night injects us with coo; breeze”
“When death opens the gate“
Antitheses
“As the day chameleons tonight”
“Homeless not hopeless”
Paradox
“We are the lack/ that take your lack”
Structure
The poem has thirty-one lines. It is written in a free verse without metrical pattern
and rhyme. The poem is written in first person plural pronoun. Each of the lines in
the poem paints a graphic picture of the harrowing condition of the beggars which
is antithetical to their rich counterparts.
Language
The poem is written in a free verse. The words in the poem are simple which
makes the reader to easily understand the poem.
Glossary
“Globe”-the world
“Elusive”- eluding and escaping
“Phase”-stage of change
“Indigenes”-native
“Translator” transfer
THEME
The major theme in the poem is social stratification. In the poem, there are
the upper class, the rich who live in comfortable homes and the beggars who are
the downtrodden, they can hardly eat except they are given alms.
Another theme in the poem are hope and optimism in the midst of adversity.
Though the beggars are passing through bitter and harrowing experience, they are
undaunted. They say that though they are homeless, they are not hopeless.
There is theme of insecurity. The poem unveils the insecurity that is
prevalent among the poor people in the society. While the rich sleep in secured
houses, the poor sleep under the bridge with cardboard in a smelly place.
Lastly, there is theme of every human being is indispensable. Though the
beggars are poor, they are very important. The rich need them. So the rich cannot
do without the beggars in our society.