A Wreath of Tears (Osofopon S. B. Esamuah)
Kobena Eyi Acquah
Your funeral
was so quiet, and small
almost too small, it is said
for a man your stature
5 You must have preferred it that way –
having buried so many yourself
and knowing as you did
how private grief must be
10 how loss remains, at the end
personal
We would have sent flowers
but seeing how they had fallen
callously into disrepute
15 and not wanting to offend
we did not
Instead
from the garden of memory
suddenly blooming as with first rains
20 we plucked, with care
a rose here, an ivy there, ferns, lilies
chrysanthemums
and drop by tearful drop we wove
a wreath from our personal loss
We wear it
around our heart, privately
It will outlast any tombstone
And you would
Have preferred it that way.
Stature (line 4): importance, status, rank, eminence
Preferred (line 6): desired, chosen, wished,
Grief (line 9): sorrow, heartache, anguish, pain, misery
Callously (line 14): heartlessly, cruelly cold-heartedly
Disrepute (line 14): dishonour, discredit, disrespect, disgrace
Memory (line 18): remembrance, recollection, recalls.
Blooming (line 19) flourishing, prospering, promising flowering
Plucked (line 20): Pulled, removed, picked, took
Rose, ivy, ferns, lilies, chrysanthemums: all flowers
Tearful (line 23); crying, weeping, mournful, sorrowful, sad
Wreath: (line 24): crown, head-dress; flowers woven into a Crown
Outlast (line 27); outlive, survive, endure, live longer han, last longer
Tombstone: (line 22): gravestone, headstone, monument
Title/Sub-title
The title and sub-titles of a poem can reveal a lot about the content of the poem. In this poem, the poet mentions Osofo pon S. B. Esamuah. “Osofopon” in Akan or Fante refers to a Rt. Reverend or Very Reverend, thus a senior minister of the church. Osofopon S. B. Esumuah was president of the Methodist Church of Ghana from 1979 to 1984. The poet, who is known to be a member of the Methodist Church, wrote this dirge or tribute in honour of Rev. S. B. Esamuah.
Issues raised by the poem
1. The nature and cost of funerals celebrated and the repercussions of such funerals.
2. The loss associated with death in the family and the effect on individual members of the family.
3. During funerals (and other such functions), disagreements over petty issues (such as whether to lay wreaths or not) can occur.
Theme
1. Grief resulting from loss is personal despite the solidarity people would show when such a crisis occurs….how private grief must be / how loss remains, at the end/personal (lines 9 and 10).
2. In the moment of mourning, people would feel the grief personally, not communally, depending on how each person related with the departed soul.
3. Even during mourning, disagreements can occur, making people hold different opinions and take sides in disputes
Tone
Such a dirge or funeral song creates a sorrowful tone, for the mourning of the reverend minister drew tears to the mourners.
However, lines 13 to 15: but seeing how they had fallen Icallously into disrepute / and not wanting to offend… give the impression that tension had built up about the use of wreaths. While the narrator joins the throng of mourners, he stops to criticise the fact that there should be a dispute at such an event when their common grief should rather unite them.
Literary devices
Refrain: Refrain is like a chorus (as in verse) or catch phrase, such as: … You must have preferred it that way (lines 5 and 6); would have preferred it that way (lines 5, 6, 28,20).
Alliteration: Note the repeated consonance in… we wove a wreath… (lines 23, 24); We wear … (line 25)
Metaphor: What does the poet refer to as “from the garden of memory”? The garden is not the normal garden where flowers grow but memory or experience, thus creating a metaphor. Plucking with care a rose here, an iry there, ferns, lilies! chrysanthemums (lines 21 and 22) – these are not flowers but various kinds of sorrowful emotions in place of flowers. Memory is of the mind and garden is of the grounds, but the poet uses one in place of the other – from the garden of memory (line 18).
Imagery: The same lines 21 and 22 paint a word picture (or imagery) of something pleasant ill the midst of something unpleasant. Flowers are used in both pleasant circumstances (such as love and friendship) and unpleasant situations such as sickness and death. In both cases, flowers help calm nerves and sorrows. But, in reality, there are no physical flowers but emotion al ones.
Form/structure
The stanzas are uneven (different lines), and the lines are not punctuated. Note how the poet likes the use of single or only two word lines. The poet uses free style, and the ends of lines don’t rhyme.
Commentary/analysis:
In these days of fashionable funerals, where some funerals are heavily commercialised, the poet recognises a difference in this person’s funeral. The event was so quiet, and small- / almost too small… for a man your stature (lines 1 and 2). And if the man was of such a stature, and yet his funeral was relatively low-keyed, then he must have been a humble person as the poet observes in lines 5 and 6: You must/have preferred it that way.
Addressing the dead with the first person narrative, You, subtly alludes to the belief that the dead still exist somewhere in the land of the living. The dead are not really dead but can hear or see or be involved with those who are still alive.
We can understand from line 7: having buried so many yourself that the person being addressed in this poem is a pastor of a church Pastors are those who often conduct burial services for the dead. And, as already noted, the poem is a tribute to Osofopon (Rt. Rev) S. B. Esamuah of the Methodist Church of Ghana.
However, having buried so many yourself, may also mean that the minister indeed lost so many people in his or her life time. He buried them not as a pastoral duty but as a parent. A father or a mother could lose several of their children or close relatives. After all, the poet believes the person knew how private grief must be/ how loss remains, at the end/personal (lines 9 to 11).
It would seem normal to place wreaths on the casket at a funeral or during burial. Families, friends, the church, and other groups would normally send wreaths to of fer condolences and solidarity. But this didn’t happen. An argument must have arisen about sending wreaths. It is now common to have families decide that they don’t want to send wreaths, for whatever reason. “Not wanting to offend” (line 15) indicates a subtle disagreement with the instructions not to send wreaths. The tone indicates regret and a criticism of the reason behind the refusal of wreaths at the funeral.
We would have sent flowers (line 12) and but seeing how they had fallen (line 13) differentiate between “we” and “they” – which clearly shows how the mourners (close relatives) had differences. In particular, the lines… how they had fallen/callously in disrepute (13 and 14) shows a sharp criticism of their disagreement. Callously means heartlessly, coldheartedly, unsympathetically, and pitilessly
A serious quarrel may have occurred over wreaths that must have offended many of them.
What kinds of wreaths are woven to mourn the departed soul? Wreaths of flowers? That is what to expect, like plucking with care, a rose here, an ivy there, ferns, lilies, chrysanthemums (lines 21 and 22). Instead, what kind of wreath was available? A wreath of tears (the title).
To weave a wreath with tears and wear it around the heart (lines 23 to 25) is heavily figurative. It is not literal but metaphoric. You can weave a wreath with flowers and wear it on your neck. Thus, the poet uses a colourful expression to convey his message.
From the title, a wreath of tears that will outlast any tombstone (line 27) worn around the neck (as wreaths are displayed). The real grief weighs down the heart, not in outward expression but deep down the heart. Flowers will fade, tombstones will crack and disintegrate, but what is kept in the heart will affect the individual mourners personally and stay there forever.
Discussion/Essay Questions
1. Whose funeral is the poet talking about?
2. Mention some qualities of the departed soul. 3. Why would they not send flowers to the funeral?
4. Why was the funeral ceremony brief?
5. What controversy surrounded the funeral? 6. What is the tone of this poem?
7. What will “outlast any tombstone”(line 27).
8. What social issues is the poet raising in this poem?
9. Comment on the mention of flowers?
10. Identify three literary devices used in the poem