My first personal response to
the poem called “Kidnapped” by Ruperake Petaia
I walk a mile,
head
facing down,
head
facing down.
In
an unfamiliar place…
I’m
in a field,
I
look around
captured
by awe.
In
an unfamiliar place…
Time
does not sleep,
Light
whelmed, by night.
Lost,
lost feeling.
In
an unfamiliar place…
Fear
will hunt me,
Lost,
I might be.
Path,
I can’t see.
In
an unfamiliar place…
A
voice tells me,
You,
can be free!
You,
can be free!
From
an unfamiliar place.
Hi Nicole.
ReplyDeleteWell done with this poem! I really enjoyed reading it and it evoked some powerful images for me, and left me with loads of questions, which I enjoy as a reader. I like the change in last line in the last stanza, in fact all of the last stanza. I look forward to reading more of your work
Esther :)
Thank you Esther for responding to my post, I appreciate it.
DeleteYour character is so lost. I can just see her standing in a field that just who grass for mile with no civilization. This makes me think how is she going to get free from this unfamiliar place?
ReplyDeleteWill she ever be free?
If she was free then what is chasing her or what is keeping her freedom?
Where is she going to go when she is free?
Thank you Diana for responding to my poem, I appreciate it. The poem quotes “kidnapped” as if something is being taken against one’s will, however, I do not see it in that way. This might be because of the lack of tone; the tone of anger or restrain. It gives me an idea that he may be accustomed on the current situation. A notion, I believe that there is nothing he could do (path, I can’t see). I believe it is only time that is chasing him. As he finished his poem about release, I think that he can be free when the sun shines again (light whelmed by night). He can finally see the path. However, it is not guaranteed that he can trace the path towards home. A home, a place, he can say “finally, I am home” and feel that sense of belonging.
DeleteHi, Nicole,
ReplyDeleteThe poem is very nice, especial the rhythm. It expresses the feeling of a new immigrant to a new place: scare, shamed, and confident. The poem is in a very simple language but has deep meanings, which is very attractive.
This is a land of immigrants and also a land of locals, so, what they are going to do, and what is going to happen are uncertain. Therefore, you use the "down the head", showing that the person is thinking and searching. This also explains the generation of generation of immigrants' way of coming, searching, and finally fitting into the society. They need to be associated with others and also the with themselves, for their future stretches out right from the road under their feet.
A very good beginning, thank!
Greetings, Nicole!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your poem. Just like Jane commented, your poem expresses the feeling of a new person in a foreign place. I can very much relate to this because I'm an immigrant here in New Zealand. I've gone through this stage before. At first, you feel strange and rather lost. Then as the time goes passes by, you start to adjust and adapt. Finally in the end, you start to feel a sense of belonging.
Great response! :)