Sharif El Gammal-Ortiz
Weak . The hooked worm ending is weak . It neither overpowers nor reconciles , and though the actual burning of the necklacing isn ’ t written into the poem , the reader can ’ t help but set that finalizing spark off in their minds , and carry the execution to fruition . Imagine : the Nigerian most probably beaten before being tied up and apprehended , his breathing constricted by the rubber tire , his body doused with gasoline , the fumes further suffocating him . Imagine realizing your death is going to be slow and agonizing , that if the intense burning doesn ’ t kill you the smoke inhalation certainly will , you a human candle , your body a glob of wax . Why this portrayal — betrayal , really , your father born and raised in Cairo , Egypt , which is in Africa , the Nigerian to all effects your brother — why this betrayal of Africa in general and Nigeria in particular when so much more is happening right now on the continent and country , respectively ? Write about the economic boom Africa is currently experiencing , or about the University of Ibadan , where Chinua Achebe went to school . Imagine someone necklacing your dog , or even worse , your mother . Not a pretty sight , eh ? I ’ ve appeared
because I believe in you . You are a poet , and a guardian of the Word . I know coming to you like this could translate into me meeting a fate similar to the Nigerian ’ s — you people your poems to later torture or have them murdered . Why ? Remember snapping Robin ’ s left arm at the elbow , or cutting Yolanda in half with a chainsaw , or tossing
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TCW