To my imaginary child

Gold cherry
Poem of the week

By onemorething

Sat, 01 Aug 2020
  • 8315 reads
27 comments
 

The photo is of Obaysch who was a few days old hippo taken from the White Nile and shipped to London Zoo in 1849. At first he was very popular, but eventually, due to being placid and just swimming and sleeping a lot, he became a disappointment. Again, I picked up on the story from David Attenborough and then did some reading about what happened to this lovely hippo. Somehow what I've written turned into something personal so I give it approximately 2 hours before I freak out and delete it!
 

Obaysch was just a baby hippopotamus,

days old when stolen, torn from the womb of the waters

of his birth, mother shot, the traumas scalded

to retinas - after he would attach to the nearest keeper,

loving anyone, in want of love. 
 

I am always seeking a depository for it -

I would have loved you too much,

too fearfully, and really now, I think

there has only ever been room for fear and me.

 

Obaysch put up a fight,

scarred by boat hook, but

you can only resist an empire for so long

before you drink its unnatural milk

mixed with maize and domination.

 

I would have taught you the names

of our own universe, would have tried

to hold in the shame and sadness,

I would have held your smaller hand in mine

so that we could marvel at it all together.

 

Obaysch was God's gift to conquerors,

an entitlement to haul him from his White Nile

to confinement, coaxed to enchant bored crowds,

to end up a zoological disappointment. 
 

To love blindly is a kind of slavery

of the soul, I have always been untethered 

as if I was a kite, once held, let go, but

I would have fed you mangoes and bravery,

I would have returned that little calf to home. 
 

Image is from wikimedia commons: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Obaysch_1852.jpg

 

 

 

 

Certificate 15
Poem
Unclassified

Comments

Submitted by Penny4athought on

Please don't delete- your words here are heartfelt and compelling. I was compelled to cry in outrage for this little brutally orphaned hippo and your kind interspersed endearments and encouragement weaved through the sad facts- and felt natural -and right in their condemnation of the wrongfulness of trapping a born free animal. I think,  If the world were flipped around and we were no longer at the top of the chain - more would suddenly see the cruelty then.  

Penny4athought

Submitted by onemorething on

Thanks Penny. I know it's such a distressing story isn't it. And outrage is just the right word for these kinds of things. It's not as though these things don't still happen. I won't delete it. I always feel a bit more reassured once a couple of people have commented on it. I write my delete warning on poems every now and then because then it makes me feel like I have an excuse to delete it if I feel I need to! But I am trying to not do things just out of fear so it can stay. Thanks for reading it and your lovely comment. Rachel :)

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

Please don't delete this. I didn't know the story so thank you for that - but it's also one of the most moving pieces I've read for a long time (and another thing - it's probably not too late) xx

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thanks insert, well I managed more than two hours anyway and feel ok about it being here this morning after kind comments. Yes, poor Obaysch. They brought him a female hippo to live with a few years later and after a long time they had three calves of their own. Only one survived. Thanks for the cherries and your lovely comment. x 

 

Submitted by drew_gummerson on

It's beautiful - a love poem for a hippo shouldn't work but it does and manages to say so much more - about you, and us, and Empire. Drew 

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Ah, thank you Drew. This little hippo deserves a love poem. Thanks for reading it. x

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Your poem left me quite tearful. The fact that Obaysch tried so hard to be loved and accepted, yet this was seen as a weakness. Very sad indeed. 

Your writing held a lot of strong emotion.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thanks Jenny, sorry if I made you feel tearful, his story is a painful tale. He immediately needed an attachment having lost his mother, and yes, then to eventually be dismissed for just doing what a hippopotamus does, very cruel. I think he was well cared for and treated by his keepers under the circumstances though from what I can glean so far which is a small consolation. I found a book about him earlier and when I have recovered from spending a king's ransom on new glasses yesterday, I will buy it and find out more about him. Thanks for reading it. :)

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

This lovely piece is our Facebook and Twitter Pick of the Day

Please share/retweet if you enjoy it as much as I did

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thanks so much, insert, my most scary to post poem. Very much appreciate Pick of the Day. :)

 

Submitted by sean mcnulty on

Really adore this poem. It stirred emotions in me and you really dazzle me with words.

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thanks so much Sean. Lovely to know that it had an impact on someone else, makes me especially glad I didn't freak out about it too much.  :)

 

Submitted by Parson Thru on

I'm glad you didn't delete it, onemorething.

I do know that feeling, though, and sympathise.

That "critic" word: "juxtaposition". Lovely word, but this poem shows a very human lateral connection to something deep and, I'm guessing, real.

The knack is getting it down, which you've done in a simple and satisfying way.

Parson Thru

Submitted by onemorething on

Thank you. Originally I didn't set out to juxtapose the two things, but as I was reading about it / writing it, it triggered thoughts about my own sense of not having children and why I'd made that choice and it sort of seemed a way of conveying that. Also I threw in a mango as I love the Eliot poem and his hippopotamus can't reach them so I thought I would make sure mine could, though perhaps a silly reference since his poem is about something different. Thanks for reading and your reassuring thoughts. Rachel :)

 

Submitted by Ed Crane on

I really admire the way you subtley demonise the arrogance of imperialism and colonialism. It reminded me of the twinge of shame I felt the first time I saw The Gateway to India monument in Mumbai.

However, I think the outstanding gem of this poem is in the last stanza:

To love blindly is a kind of slavery

of the soul, I have always been untethered 

as if I was a kite, once held, let go,

Such powerful words .....

BTW I'm not sure mangoes would be good for a little Hippo, a bit rich maybe. :)

Thanks for this terrific piece

Ed

This deserves diamond embossed gold cherries!

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thanks Ed! Very happy you liked it. No, I think mangoes would be bad for a hippo's digestion, but maybe just one wouldn't hurt. I wonder if insert has considered diamond-embossed cherries as a new feature? Swarovski-style ones. Perhaps not. But I appreciate the sentiment. Thanks for reading it and your lovely feedback. Rachel :)

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

This is our Poem of the Week - congratulations!

 

Submitted by drew_gummerson on

That's great! Obaysch touched my heart. 

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thanks so much! That's lovely. :)

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Dear Rachel, 
having read all other comments I am going to add my two-penny worth. I find it incomprehensible that a talented writer as yourself should be so self-doubting as to contemplate to delete such a sensitive piece as this even though it may feel very personal. You should have more belief in your ability to convey every kind of emotion. I am, as always, the most ardent admirer of your poetic skill.

Luigi x

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Ah thanks so much Luigi, I'm more at ease with sharing the more personal all the time. Perhaps the next time I do, I will post it without the hand-wringing. Thanks for your very lovely comment. Rachel x

 

Submitted by Richard L. Prov... on

This is just beautiful. We know creatures other than ourselves have a heart and feelings - you have proved it so. 

Richard L. Provencher

Submitted by onemorething on

Thank you Richard, that's such a lovely comment, am glad you felt that. Rachel :)

 

Submitted by Mark Burrow on

Great piece. How would you feel about reading this or maybe something else at our reading night on the 27th? If you think it's something you might like to do, could you drop me an email at markburrowabc@gmail.com

No probs if not! 

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thanks, yes, I will have a think about it. Rachel :)

 

Submitted by Mark Burrow on

Ah, Rachel - gotcha.

I'd be a terrible detective. 

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Yes Watson, don't give up your day job for sleuthing. :)