Broken Dreams - Emmanuel Ekene Nwanne

Here I am with pain clinging to my body like thorns,
So profound that I can't find my feet,
The Light is gone, darkness high and low,
The giant Land is crying and deep in tears.

An utopian world I've always yearned for,
A world with endless circle of frolic moment,
A world where pipe dreams never lived,
A world where people are kept in stitches.

The Land is crying and so deep in tears,
My hope has been sent to the Lion's teeth,
Who is whiter than white?
Who has the balls
To take the wheel of affairs?

Oh Pilot of life where art thou?
Lower your Heavens and come to our aid,
Put ear to our pitiful suffering,
Lower your Heavens and come to us.



SUMMARY
The nameless nation referred as the ' the giant land', is likened to Nigeria because the word 'giant' is often used to describe Nigeria as 'The giant of Africa'.
The poem can be seen as a depiction of Nigeria where good governance is elusive, a Country that offers no hope of a better life to the common man.

Stanza 1.
In these lines, the reader is made to understand the horrible pain that visited the Poet, because of the crises and intimidation suffered by the common people of the land.
The reader is also made to understand that there's much hopelessness when he said "the light is gone, darkness high and low".

Stanza 2.
This stanza is seen as a sharp contrast between the Poetic Persona's dream world and the current world of pain and suffering.
In these lines, the Poetic Persona discloses and cast more light on the kind of World he hoped for, 'an utopian world' a perfect World where peace and harmony reigns, and a world where dreams are achievable.

Stanza 3.
According to the Poet, his hope is long gone without any trace. He also wonders if there is anyone; fair, honest and courageous that can lead the people to their dreamland.
The Poetic Persona also reemphasizes on the current state of the land. Here frustration is seen as a result of hopelessness.
In this stanza the reader is also made to understand that people's efforts are undermined and their dreams are frustrated.

Stanza 4.
It is noted here that the Poet is a religious persona who sees God as the 'Pilot of life' because He's a supreme being who controls the destiny of all men, and that without Him, nothing that exists can subsist.
The reaction of people in time trouble and tribulations when they run back to God whom they all see as the universal king that solves all Mystery, is also portrayed in this stanza.

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