Once
upon a time, son,
They
used to laugh with their hearts
And
laugh with their eyes:
But
now they only laugh with their teeth,
While their ice-block-cold eyes
While their ice-block-cold eyes
Search
behind my shadow.
There
was a time indeed
They
used to shake hands with their hearts:
But
that’s gone, son.
Now
they shake hands without hearts
While
their left hands search
My
empty pockets.
‘Feel
at home’! ‘Come again’:
They
say, and when I come
Again
and feel
At
home, once, twice,
There
will be no thrice –
For
then I fond doors shut on me.
So I
have learned many things, son.
I
have learned to wear many faces
Like
dresses – homeface,
Officeface, streetface, hostface,
Cocktailface, with all their conforming
smiles
Like
a fixed portrait smile.
And I
have learned too
To
laugh with only my teeth
And
shake hands without my heart.
I
have also learned to say, ‘goodbye’,
When
I mean ‘Good-riddance’:
To
say ‘Glad to meet you’,
Without
being glad; and to say ‘It’s been
Nice
talking to you’, after being bored.
But
believe me, son.
I
want to be what I used to be
When
I was like you. I want
To
unlearn all these muting things.
Most
of all, I want to relearn
How
to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror
Shows
only my teeth like a snake’s bare
Fangs!
So
show me, son,
How
to laugh; show me how
I
used to laugh and smile
Once
upon a time when I was like you.
Gabriel Okara
To start a discussion, click on comments and then post your questions; or reply to the questions posted by others
Why do you think Gabriel Okara wrote the poem?
ReplyDeleteGabriel Okara write this poem to regain the innocence which he had lost when he become elder through his son.
DeleteAmeera, it is the simplest meaning that you can read out from this poem. Okara lives in a country which was for a long time a colony of the British. Why cant you interpret the poem in this context?
Deleteis he simply crying over the loss of his childhood innocence?
What is his attitude towards the changes that occurred in his society?
Gabriel Okara wrote this poem to open our eyes from our selfish activities such as mentioned in his poem.He is criticizing current generation who lack true love for others.Through this poem he want to make aware the child,who is the next generation about the need of true love and its value.
DeleteGabriel Okara is pointing on the situations at which the child may flop in his life ,and telling to be aware of it by showing father as an example.Poet also tells to keep the innocence of childhood throughout the life and to be sincere in all activities.
DeleteOkara being a great poet has something more serious and important message to share with his readers. What Vanisree and Ameera says can be the simplest interpretations of the poem. I have given you hints above to analyse the poem in a different way. Try it.
DeleteI Think Gabriel Okara wishes a good&cultural wold.&he is very sad about our uncultural life.I Think he is worried about our future life&world.
DeleteOKARA tries to reveal the changes that happened toa person when he grows on account of the influence of the world
DeleteIS RELATION HAS MUCH IMPORTANCE IN LIFE?
ReplyDeleteYES,relationship is one of the important factor in our life. we are human beings.we have to interact with society,nature,culture etc.....
DeleteIs it possible to live innocent in this modern,complex world?
ReplyDeleteno because each and every person in this world interact with others with a hidden assumption in their mind
DeleteWHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PAST AND PRESENT RELATIONS?
ReplyDeleteAmrutha,
DeletePeople generally tend to boast of the past as something superior to the present. this idea of greatness of the past need not be true always. But in the context of this poem, the nostalgic feeling of the poet about the sincere relationships in the society of his childhood days is projected. He thinks of the greatness of his own people who were truly honest before the advent of the invaders and colonizers. When the invaders tried to impose the superiority of their culture on the people of his country, the society also began to change. This change was not progressive. It was a change in the wrong direction. The genuineness of the culture was adulterated by these 'modern' trends and the people are now more hypocritical. This difference is reflected in the relations of the people too.
IS IT ALL PEOPLE ARE SELFISH LIKE THE POET SAYS?
ReplyDeleteTo teach a value is the duty of a preacher. A poet need not be a preacher always. you have the right to be selfish or to be generous. So do all the persons in the world. This is why we see a variety of people different in their character. There are selfish people, virtuous people, honest people, pompous people etc.
DeleteAll are not selfish ofcourse. the poet cries about the loss of 'originality' of the culture of his country
Never,But someone are selfish&someone are very sincere.They give very importance to human relationship
Deleterelations are the basis of life.
ReplyDeleteTrue . You are not alone in this world. The question is how you handle the relations.
Deletewhat do you think about the relations in our present life?
ReplyDeleteNow all relations are only for their own benefits.But someone cannot identify others cheating.SO BE CAREFUL
Deleterelations become drop out from our present life.And,all are selfish in their life so the innocence of relations are spoiling now a days.........
ReplyDeletetoday we keep relations only for achieve our goal.there is no true relationship in our modern life style.
ReplyDeletewhy do you think that poet has given it the title,'Once Upon a Time'?
ReplyDeleteWhat is the importance of this poem in our new generation life?
ReplyDeleteThis poem have a great role in the life of people who r living in the present world because now no one didnt give any value to ralationship & the love & care which is given by the world to them and they give importance to only the world which give satisfaction to their wish and the poem speaks about the importance of relationship that must one has to consider in his/her life for ever.
DeleteWhy are the teeth compared to a snakes bare fangs?
ReplyDeleteWhy do left hands search empty pockets now? What does this indicate?
ReplyDeleteThese lines indicates the profit making intensity amoung the new generation. In the present world all the people r becoming selfish and they have only to become wealth and they r trying to aquire that that's why they left hands search for empty pockets
DeleteI Wail at the lost of my youth's innocense,
ReplyDeleteThe thought of them how sweet they were!
The same now hunts my present stand!
And i'm like half whose other half is dead,
oh how much i need a revival.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRead this poem 3 decades ago and it's more interesting now than
ReplyDeleteyesterday
I Think it's true to say that every generation looks back on their youth & see it as a time of innocense; age & experience bringing discernment & dissilusion.
ReplyDeleteThis poem worth a million.This is the situation now child have also inherited this 'fake' smile they dont know what the fun behind laughing open heartedly. God will can only save us now form this 'fake' world of smiles.
ReplyDeletethe poem shows the waves of life.....................................
ReplyDeletethe famous Nigerian poet Gabriel Okara laments about the by gone days when people had more sincere and honest relationships but now the present society lose the honest and sincere relationships.today people are profit motive.
ReplyDeleteI am feeling appalled at the enormity of errors found in the comments. It is a pang down in the heart (close to kidney) that we Keralites commit and wonder at the mystery of people elsewhere considering us 99.99% literate. We are literate, I do agree, proud am I, too, but who will get us out of these errors? Or will we one day call it Kerala English. Sorry, I have found exactly 34 errors!
ReplyDelete