The Lucky Ones Are Not Yet Born - William Saint George

The lucky ones
are still unborn.

Still they live
in Odomankoma's womb
and cast pearls
into the ocean
we call the starry sky.

They look down
into his pot,
and ask the old (wo)man

What is that black smoke
and that flashing flame?
Why do they cry
when they know
you do not hear?

Odomankoma,
wisest in all the heavens,
tells them:

That is hell,
with her new gods,
preaching fashion and makeup.

Ananse has fooled them,
and taken all knowledge,
so they read a book
and think they are right.
They do not look,
they will not find,
but pray I do not send you there,
you lucky ones!

Author Profile - William Saint George

Biography:

William Saint George is the pen name of Jesse Jojo Johnson, an Entrepreneur-In-Training at Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), a professional photographer and an active blogger.

Five Questions with William:

1. The title of this poem is a reference to Ayi Kwei Armah's novel, "The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born". How does this poem connect, for you, with the subject matter and theme's of Armah's book?

The title of this poem is a deliberate echo of the book you mention. This poem shares the disillusionment with contemporary Ghanaian society expressed in Ayi Kwei Armah's novel.


2. The title and opening lines of the poem suggest that the "lucky ones" will be born one day. When do you think that day will come, and what will the world look like at that time?

I have no answer to that. The poem suggests the "lucky ones" are being held back by God, but it doesn't look to answer when they will come, or what the world should be like then. It is a question the reader's instincts can best answer. What's interesting is God's reply "That is hell,..." and his closing statements in the last stanza suggest that the "lucky ones" may never come.


3. You are an active critic of Ghanaian writing - you mentioned in our last interview with you that you wanted to shape "Ghana's "poetic thought" by not only writing poetry, but by writing about poetry." What is your current opinion of the state of Ghanaian poetry? What are its strengths and weaknesses?

Ghanaian poetry today is a patchwork of different voices coexisting in an oddly interesting flux. I've experienced vastly different forms and one thing has struck me, Ghanaian poetry doesn't seem to have grown up. Yet. But that's just a factor of time. It will become better one hopes.

Poetry is functioning as it should, as a reflection of society's spirit. Ghana's poetry reflects the cosmopolitan world view of those who practice it, and that's a good thing. However, I wish more people understood how serious poetry is. Too many poets see the art as a means to an end, and that's disappointing.


4. Continuing off that last question, where do you see Ghanaian poetry going in the next 10 or 20 years? Are you optimistic that a poetic world more suitable for the "lucky ones" will be made, or are you pessimistic?

The only thing certain is poets will become better, and as their readers become more sophisticated, poems will be more refined. That pleases me. I have no idea which direction poetry will take. If things continue as they are right now, poetry might end up resembling today's music industry - or any other popular art form. That, to me, will be tragic.


5. Do you have a favourite Ghanaian poet right now, someone who you think deserves more attention? Or perhaps a non-Ghanaian who young Ghanaian poets could turn to for inspiration?

Singling out one person will be unfair to others whose work has pleased me. I'll mention a number of poets who I pay attention to, whose poetry I feel deserves more recognition. They are, in no order of preference, Efo Dela, Kwabena Agyare, Daniel Kojo Appiah and Amma Konadu Anarfi. I've made a deliberate effort to discover more Ghanaian poets (who actually write their poems) and I've yet to meet others who're more deserving.

As most of the non-Ghanaian poets I read are dead, I doubt many young poets here will find inspiration in them. Still, I must mention WH Auden as my greatest inspiration for the past year.

Contact William:

williamsaintgeorge(at)gmail.com

Ephemeral Lives - William Saint George

The sun burns the last shreds of night
Still wrapped in the dewy cocoon's
Birth-sheets; fickle under burning light,
This quiet nativity is in the death of the moon:

The drying grass accompanies the drying
Of my wings. Long curled, they unfurl
Into a brilliant blossom,
Stoked by the fires of a short passion for life,
However fickle and sorry lived.

I poke my probing eyes into a world of wonder:
Colour beats colour in ever-contending

Extravagances just to please the pollen-bearer's
Sweet tongue:
A little gift for a great service,
(much like the penny for the cobbler's worth),
But even better, for the kindness of a cupful
Lasts some hours,
And these hours are keenly spent flirting with daisies,
Or rejecting the audacities of the pretentious rose.

A few hours stretch like a century before me;
The seconds of a drinkful of nectar
A year-long ecstasy.
Reeling pangs of delight stiffen wings,
And make crazed convulsions of unadulterated joy,
How sweet!

But then it's on, and off,
And I flirt with the fancy dressed field ladies,
Topped in hats and sweetly scented pansies,

But the climax of the day is passed
And the gathering orange-stained clouds
Loom over a short destiny:
Like a rope that expectantly ruptures
Under strain, yet still snaps with a shock
And a low mutter of condolence.

The sun which triumphed at the break of day
Is old and sickly as my tired wings
And crackling feet,
And the exhaustion from pleasing service
And unintended battles with vile humans.

Now the hours tick away the receding embers
Of hope that was kindled,
And the cool winds of resignation
Clip the wings and squash my fruitless rebellion:
Nature versus destiny and a tiny, stubborn will,
Sworn to glide the fields and dance the garden breezes.

All is now gone, and the ephemeral life I have lived
And loved fades into the obscurity of my race:
The flowers I fertilized will grow,
And my children shall taste their fruits.

That is the sacrifice.

Author Profile - William Saint George

Biography:

William Saint George is the pen name of Jesse Jojo Johnson, a Computer Science undergraduate at KNUST and an active freelance photographer and blogger. He blogs at: http://williamsaintgeorge.blogspot.com/

Five Questions with William:

1. How long have you been writing poetry?

I wrote my first poem in JSS 1. The year must be 2002, but I've been writing prose for a very long time now, probably as far back as 1998.


2. Who are your favourite poets? Which poets have most informed and inspired your work?

That's an easy one! My first loves were Percy Shelley, John Keats and Lord Byron. I first fell in love with the English Romantics, and I generally adore their work. They still inspire most of my pieces. Besides them, I'll name Ezra Pound, Edgar Allen Poe and Sylvia Plath as my few American favourites.


3. What do you hope to accomplish with your poetry?

Poems touch and inspire us in ways prose cannot. I wish my poetry will touch and inspire the many minds that read them.


4. You run a blog, http://seriouspoetry.wordpress.com/, in which you write poetry criticism. This seems to be a rare habit among young writers. What drew you to establish that blog, and to write prose on the subject of poetry?

When I finally acknowledged that I was into poetry for good, I felt I will have a stronger impact in shaping Ghana's "poetic thought" by not only writing poetry, but by writing about poetry. I felt it was the next step in the long journey towards artistic expression.


5. Do you think that poetry can have a significant influence on the culture of Ghana? The political culture? If so, how?

With the work of many budding poets and "poet-ish" artists in Ghana, I think the future is bright. Yet somehow, I still feel that poetry will remain partly hidden in the shadows, and rightly so. Not many people (can) appreciate good poetry, and it should not be watered down by commercialization. It will have a significant influence on some small aspects of Ghanaian culture, but only so far.

Contact William:

williamsaintgeorge(at)gmail.com