Shifting Load

Posted by Teju Cole on September 6, 2008 (last modified at 1:13 pm, 8/23/10)

a letter from Teju Cole

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Nature: in the dream
it sounds like a thump,
a guest rapping
the floor boards from below.

Raccoon, groundhog,
milk snake in the walls,
the sound of summer
perfecting its two-step.

Country cousin,
I work a two-strand braid,
from outside in—
culture na yarn, na jolly

wey man dey take carry
burden for him head,
nature come dey help am
comot the load again.

The Soul Washer
protects another’s life.
Born the same week-day
as the Asante king,

he wears around his neck
a disc of solid gold—
the disc absorbs all evil
lofted at the king—

gold and man agree
to carry such a load.
Nature thumps again—
let me out or let me in,

the sound of summer
perfecting its two-step—
raccoon, groundhog,
milk snake in the walls.

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© Teju Cole 2008

Filed in Guest writers, Letter-poems, Nature/Ecology and tagged . Bookmark the permalink. Trackbacks are closed, but you can post a comment.Print Print

11 Responses to Shifting Load

  1. Bill says:
    September 6, 2008 at 10:29 am

    How welcome it is to study naija lingo.

    Reply
  2. Peter says:
    September 6, 2008 at 4:37 pm

    Such resonance.

    I love the lingo (is it naija?), whatever it means.

    I love “gold and man agree / to carry such a load.”

    Heck, I love it all.

    The setting seems to be Dave’s. Is Dave a “country cousin”? Did Teju visit and absorb his surroundings this well?

    Reply
  3. Natalie d'Arbeloff says:
    September 6, 2008 at 6:17 pm

    Beautiful, and wonderfully spoken.

    Reply
  4. beth says:
    September 6, 2008 at 8:13 pm

    Tonight, tired, headachy, these words and Teju’s voice were as warm and welcome as a hot cloth on my forehead. Thanks.

    Reply
  5. leslee says:
    September 6, 2008 at 9:45 pm

    Very nice.

    Reply
  6. Teju Cole says:
    September 6, 2008 at 10:57 pm

    This is meant as a back and forth, a conversation in poetry, between Dave and me. I can’t wait to see what develops.

    Bill, Peter: the lingo is indeed Naija. Nigerian pidgin, to be precise–the lingua franca of the people.

    Thank you all for your comments.

    Reply
  7. Pica says:
    September 6, 2008 at 11:22 pm

    fantastic rhythms here. more please.

    Reply
  8. Jo says:
    September 7, 2008 at 5:01 am

    Clapping hugely…….love it!

    Reply
  9. marja-leena says:
    September 7, 2008 at 10:55 am

    I love this, too! Thanks Teju, wonderful to hear your voice.

    Reply
  10. Rachel says:
    September 8, 2008 at 8:22 am

    I love the parabola of the poem, and “the sound of summer / perfecting its two-step” and “Country cousin, / I work a two-strand braid, / from outside in.”

    And yes, hearing it aloud doubles the wonder for me. So glad this dialogue in poetry is arising.

    Reply
  11. Dave says:
    September 8, 2008 at 8:43 am

    Parabola is a good word. It also occurs to me that “burden” is another word for “refrain.” I don’t completely understand this poem, and hope I never do. (My own biggest self-criticism is that my work is too readily understandable.) A great start for what I hope will turn into a fruitful dialogue.

    Reply

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