Moremi here has three distinct, yet intertwined meanings.

First, Moremi is the name of Wole Woyinka’s daughter.

Secondly, Moremi is a game reserve in Botswana created to protect Africa’s rich land and ecosystem, notably formed by the indigenous population.

Finally, Moremi is a Goddess in the Yoruba tradition.

Soyinka mingles all three of these meanings thorughout his poem, writing both an ode to the creation of a national park as well as a letter to his daughter, honoring the Yoroban tradition.

Poem Synthesis

Soyinka, in the midst of Nigeria’s independence, considers the many events occurring in his life like the birth of his daughter and the opening of Nigeria’s first National Park.

Soyinka writes through several lenses that one can read the poem through, one being a nurturing tone for his daughter, as well as one of protectiveness over the earth and its resources.

The earth can be seen as a symbol of the daughter and the daughter can be seen as a symbol of the earth. Soyinka gives advice to his daughter through innumerable similies and metaphors about the earth and the way in which it functions.

He says, “my child- your tongue arch to scorpion tail, spit straight and return to danger’s threats yet coo with the brown pigeon, tendril dew between your lips.” This is Soyinka’s example of telling his daughter to be sharp and dangerous like a scorpion, but also to be nurturing, gentle, and kind, like a pigeon.

He is clearly displaying the paternal qualities that he imparts on his daughter in a similar fashion to the way in which he is telling the people of Nigeria to be protective of their new park.

He wraps up the poem with the thought that in the same way we rely so heavily upon the earth, we too must let the earth rely upon us. We must give back to the earth in the way it gives to us.

1

Throughout the poem, Soyinka displays a tone of hopefulness and guidance. He is exclaiming that the people of Nigeria must be hopeful for the future of the country with their newfound independence, as well as hopeful for the future of their newly preserved land. The literal image of the dung floor breaking the lizard’s fall, but not its skin, tells us that the earth is there to protect us, not to harm us, and implies that we ought to, in return, protect the earth. Additionally, Soyinka’s poem allows for it to be read through a paternal lens towards his recently birthed daughter,. While Soyinka is hopeful towards the future of Nigeria as a whole, he also gives off the impression that he is looking forward to bright times to come for his daughter, advising her to plumb the earth for life.

The Baobab tree is endemic to Africa, and is known as the tree of life. In this stanza, Woyinka describes how the yam, a tuber vegetable grown deep in the earth is connected to the idea of the roots of the Baobab and the image of a hearth. By connecting these images, he is developing a sense that all life stems from the roots of the earth and that our true home is on our native soil, reminding us that we are part of the Earth, rather than separate from it.

2

“Like a top/spin you on the navel of the storm, for the hoe/that roots the forests plows a path for squirrels”

Soyinka’s lines here refer to a metaphoric comparison between a spinning top and a natural storm. The spinning top is a direct correlation to an incoming storm like a hurricane or tornado. Hurricanes and tornados completely uproot the land and in doing so the repair that takes place in the aftermath of the storm creates new habitats for the animals. Sometimes, what is destructive in our minds, like a storm, can be beneficial for the earth.

3

“Be ageless as dark peat, but only that rain’s/fingers, not the feet of men, may wash you over.”

This similie is Soyinka communicating his protectiveness over his daughter. He is describing that she should not allow for people to walk all over her in the same way in which people walk all over the national park.

4

“child- your tongue arch/ to scorpion tail, spit straight return to danger’s threats/ yet coo with the brown pigeon, tendril dew between your lips” This line is expressing Soyinka’s parenting skills and the way in which he nurtures his daughter. He is advising his daughter to be poisonous like a scorpion: both fierce and intimidating. But, he is also explaining to his daughter that she must be gentle and kind like a pigeon. This fatherly advice exclaims that his daughter must be sharp and dangerous, but she also must have gracious, courteous and warm-hearted qualities to make her a well-rounded individual.

5

One can infer that when Soyinka writes “Shield you like the flesh of palms,” he is referring to the way in which the earth will always be our protector. The earth will keep the people from harm in a similar manner to which a parent would keep their child out of harms way at all costs. Soyinka writes that “A woman’s flesh is oil–child, palm oil on your tongue.” Nigeria, Soyinka’s birthplace, is one of the largest producers of palm oil. By stating that a “woman’s flesh is oil” is bringing his subject to life. The caesura used in the last sentence of this stanza is placed in such a way that makes it seem like Soyinka is speaking directly to another person.

6

When Soyinka writes “Now roll your tongue in honey till your cheeks are/Swarming honeycombs– your world needs sweetening, child,” he is using extremely sweet and charming diction to convey his message. This delightful string of words could either be taken as a tone of hopefulness for Nigeria, where added “sweetening” into the life of Nigerian’s after their long fight for independence is necessary. The appealing diction could also be taken as fatherly hopefulness and cheer for his daughter, where he is wishing nothing but sweetness and honey upon his young daughter.

7

It could be said that when Soyinka writes, “Long on your lips, of salt, that you may seek/ None from tears. This, rain-water, is the gift/Of gods” it sounds like he is giving advice to his readers. He is exclaiming that people should not taste the salt from their tears because there is no longer room for sadness in such a remarkable, happy, and independent time. People should be embracing the natural beauties that occur on the earth, however, they should be careful not to overuse the resources provided to us when we “bear fruits in season.”

8

“Fruits then to your lips: haste to repay/ the debt of birth”

When one takes fruit from the earth it takes an extremely long time to regrow and replenish the earth with its stolen resource. The “debt of birth” is the birth of a person and the toll that a single birth takes on the earth’s resources.

9

In a similar way to which we overuse the earth’s resources, in doing so, we also have taken for granted all the natural beauty that was there before us. In hopes of industrializing, we have corrupted the earth’s natural materials and assets to the point that so few things, nowadays, are natural. Everything is man-made. There are “man-tides,” due to the toll that global warming (in part caused by the human) has taken on the world. Additionally, there are “fossilled sands,” because even the sand, which is supposed to be one of the most natural resources made of only crushed shells, has been replaced by man-made plastics and other human trash.