Blog
Weaving a spell of words | Maneo Mohale
Thu, 24 October 2024
By the time we leave school, we have encountered many poems and been forced to write about them for exams. We could be excused for believing that we know what a poem is.
But every now and then, we encounter an arrangement of words, on a page or at a reading, that makes us question and reconsider what poems are.
Maneo Mohale is a poet, feminist writer and editor whose debut collection, Everything Is a Deathly Flower (uHlanga, 2019) won the 2020 Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry. Read their extraordinary list poem below and be reminded of poetry’s roots in song, magic and ritual.
Mohale has the following to say about it, “I call it my rhythm poem. It employs anaphora, a form of poetic repetition to spin a kind of rhythmic spell.”
If you are wondering what makes it a poem rather than prose, read it out loud without trying too hard to understand every word. You will quickly feel the spell of the words in your own body.
JOHN (The Bruise)
as the curl, as the threat, as the truth, as the pain, as de sade, as the boy, as the act, as the Acts, as the chest, as the church, as the turn, as the four, as the tongue, as the rope, as the ****, as the dark, as the hurt, as the light, as the knife, as the whip, as the shade, as the Shades, as the sigh, as the lie, as the role, as the dome, as the gag, as the tooth, as the grass, as the grace, as the graze, as the Good, as the bruise and the past, as the Past, as the passed, as the pick, as the star, as the scarf, as the switch, as the scar, as the strike, as the shock, as the care, as the bind, as the shame, as the Shame, as the same.
The rhythm only varies slightly once, and it offers a clue to what Mohale is doing here. The phrase “the bruise and the past” is slightly longer than the others. It suggests that the trauma to the body is rooted in a long history, and that the effects of it remain visible.
At another point a word or phrase is crossed out, signalling that even speaking it out loud might be dangerous.
In other words, it is possible to take a step back and learn more about what the magic spell wants to achieve. In this case, it is a kind of exorcism, offering protection and hope for healing.
But the wonderful thing about the spell of a strong poem is that it remains powerful even as we learn more about how it works. By stringing short, rhythmic words onto a phrase that is repeated over and over, Mohale has created a landscape through which we can move, always asking ourselves what it can tell us about our day-to-day reality.
In the next few days, write a poem in which you use a strict rhythm and short phrases to convey an urgent message.
The annual AVBOB Poetry Competition remains open until midnight on 30 November 2024. Visit its website at www.avbobpoetry.co.za today and make sure that you are familiar with the competition rules.
But every now and then, we encounter an arrangement of words, on a page or at a reading, that makes us question and reconsider what poems are.
Maneo Mohale is a poet, feminist writer and editor whose debut collection, Everything Is a Deathly Flower (uHlanga, 2019) won the 2020 Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry. Read their extraordinary list poem below and be reminded of poetry’s roots in song, magic and ritual.
Mohale has the following to say about it, “I call it my rhythm poem. It employs anaphora, a form of poetic repetition to spin a kind of rhythmic spell.”
If you are wondering what makes it a poem rather than prose, read it out loud without trying too hard to understand every word. You will quickly feel the spell of the words in your own body.
JOHN (The Bruise)
as the curl, as the threat, as the truth, as the pain, as de sade, as the boy, as the act, as the Acts, as the chest, as the church, as the turn, as the four, as the tongue, as the rope, as the ****, as the dark, as the hurt, as the light, as the knife, as the whip, as the shade, as the Shades, as the sigh, as the lie, as the role, as the dome, as the gag, as the tooth, as the grass, as the grace, as the graze, as the Good, as the bruise and the past, as the Past, as the passed, as the pick, as the star, as the scarf, as the switch, as the scar, as the strike, as the shock, as the care, as the bind, as the shame, as the Shame, as the same.
The rhythm only varies slightly once, and it offers a clue to what Mohale is doing here. The phrase “the bruise and the past” is slightly longer than the others. It suggests that the trauma to the body is rooted in a long history, and that the effects of it remain visible.
At another point a word or phrase is crossed out, signalling that even speaking it out loud might be dangerous.
In other words, it is possible to take a step back and learn more about what the magic spell wants to achieve. In this case, it is a kind of exorcism, offering protection and hope for healing.
But the wonderful thing about the spell of a strong poem is that it remains powerful even as we learn more about how it works. By stringing short, rhythmic words onto a phrase that is repeated over and over, Mohale has created a landscape through which we can move, always asking ourselves what it can tell us about our day-to-day reality.
In the next few days, write a poem in which you use a strict rhythm and short phrases to convey an urgent message.
The annual AVBOB Poetry Competition remains open until midnight on 30 November 2024. Visit its website at www.avbobpoetry.co.za today and make sure that you are familiar with the competition rules.
