When I was about 14, my father compelled my twin and I to kill a sheep for Christmas. I learned the value of life (any kind) then, and have not taken anything that lives and moves for granted since then.
When I was 17, pretty Chantal from Cote D'Ivoire broke my heart. She was 18. I'm not sure if I really ever recovered from it. I started writing poetry as a means of dealing with it. I've not stopped writing since then.
Can you think of any 3 of your own?
Re: Your third point - do you per chance have “pretty Chantal’s”address? I think the followers of your blog will like to send her a “thank you” note!
ReplyDeleteps. of course not making light of the issue of a broken heart...
ReplyDelete1. I had a really bad case of typhoid fever and very nearly died at 8 years. I have memories of a near-death experience.
ReplyDelete2. I was lost for about 24hrs somewhere between England and Scotland after the bus I had boarded from Paris-Edinburgh left me stranded at a rest-stop (I was helped a group of travelling seniors and one of the men tried cajole a kiss out of me after he showed me to the nearest train station and bought me a ticket). I was 17.
3. I realized that I could literally achieve all ANTYHING I wanted as long as my goals lined up with God's purpose (been trying to discover God's purpose for my life ever since).
* 4. [Had to slip this in for completeness.] I saw the faces of young black prostitutes in the harsh glare of Barcelona's street lights (so many lessons & reality checks from this one but, I have written too much as it is...). I was 22, I think.
Thanks for the opportunity.
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ReplyDeleteYes, i agree with yeh. Thank you Chantal for the one good thing she did in breaking your heart; she also broke out the writer in you.
ReplyDelete3 things huh?
1. When i was 5 yrs old, i spoke Fante for the first time. "Auntie Lizy, me nan kro ye me y'awo". Up until then, i don't remember which language i was speakin; Yoruba or Igbo? :)
2. I was an adult before i was a kid. I realised this when i was 6yrs old, my dad spanked me for telling an adult not to go near my cousin's new baby because he smelt foul; full of cigarette smoke. My mouth and I, hmmm, so so trouble sooo. I have learnt to temper it a bit, maybe. I am blatant with the truth; swinging it like an axe
3. I think too logically to allow myself to get my heart broken. Hurt, yes. I would have thought out all possible scenarios and debated how to behave on most outcomes and probabilities.
I gave 3? yeaaa
I must say I'm glad that she did because that experience brought out the poet in you. I've read a couple of your poems on your blog page and I like them. Have you written any new poems laterly?
ReplyDeleteI am trying to think of the three things that shaped my life but ... hmmmm let me see...
ReplyDelete1) My mother left me for school when I was three months old. By age three I couldn't relate to any sib
2) After my first degree (2003), I was nearly ran over by a truck loaded with sawn-timber, because the truck driver was also being chased by a police car. I never rode bicycle again.
3)...
Nana Yaw! Wow...good to be back here (been a while!) Thanks for sharing. I guess in your first case, God definitely had PLANs for you, cos that accident and the way you were "saved" is too fortuitous NOT to be a coincidence of an unearthly kind!!;-)
ReplyDeleteMy three events?:
1. 1990: my one and only elder brother (3.5yrs older than me) fell into a coma for 14 months (March 1990) around the same time I had been hospitalised for a stomach problem (Feb 1990). Couple of months later, Mum was hospitalised for a very serious problem around Christmas 1990. In order to deal with the loss of my brother in May 1991, I read Norman Vincent Peale's "Power of Positive Thinking". Became a far better person, more assertive. Counselling to deal with bereavement also helped
2. 1994: Attended The Hague International Model United Nations. Goofed, made friends, and found out that I could be good at public speaking. Since then, vowed to one day--by hook or by crook--work for the United Nations at best, at worst, become an international civil servant
3. 2003: passed my masters programme test with flying colours at a time when workplace was in turmoil(was single-handedly dealing with raising funds for the NGO I worked for; studying; and trying to recruit volunteers to help). I realised then that I wasn't as daft as I imagined; plus that I could be a powerful multi-tasker!!
@ Yeh - this was in 1994. I did not see her again. She wrote to me once, but that was it. She also lived partly in France and I presumed she would have gone there when Cote d'Ivoire became politically unstable over 10 years ago.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, she has stumbled upon my blog out of the millions out there. ;-). Your comment is appreciated and no offence was taken.
@ Anon #1 - Your experience number 2 (being lost in the UK must have been harrowing, but you said it with a little bit of lightheartedness. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete@ Tetekai - yes, you must have been precocious. I see telltale signs. Thanks for your comment.
ReplyDelete@ Anon #2 - Thanks for your comment. To answer your question, I am not exactly writing poetry now. I am trying to practise my prose-writing. Plus poetry is a very demanding and involving emotional exercise for me, and I do not want to experience those deep emotions on a regular basis these days. But I think of poetry and even try a few lines from time to time. I'll post an experimental piece I am working on on my "Poetry Project" page for you. :-)
ReplyDelete@ Nana Fredua-Agyeman - Your near accident must have been horrible on the nerves. I had a near accident too. It's not to reduce the gravity of yours, but I was walking along an open field and something whizzed past my head. I walking in the midst of discuss throwers and I hadn't even seen them. Big boys those! One came to hold my head to make sure it was there, because it should have hit me!
ReplyDelete@ EKB - I'm sorry about the hospital experience of your brother and you. But since it has made you stronger, I guess we should be thankful for it as well, and also for the fact that it ended well. I presume this hospital was in Europe? ;-)
ReplyDeleteWow NaNA,That u really were Lucky not to have hit the ground,and erm with the heart break..I don`t think U`ve recover yet coz from writing pads U moved to blogging.
ReplyDeleteNow mine....
#1, I got the baddest ass whooping by a girl when i was 6,i thot coz we were in the same class and height wise i was taller,we were age mates or i was gonna be stronger"LIE"..this mean girl threw me around like a ping pong ball without trying..
#2,i got accepted in A football Academy when i was 13 after a months trial.
#3,..