Mr. Asiamah's voice rings loud and clear above their heads, "As we continue our presentation event," he says, "I have only one paradox to share with you, as an advice. Teams A! B! C! D! E! F! G! You are only as strong as your weakest link! Remember this, now, proceed!"
This is the last leg of Kate's race in Team 'A's fight for the highest grade. She recites a poem from The Secret Opera House, an anthology written by Therie Essien, called Stars Are The Horizon, and she is using the poem to showcase a figure of speech called, the Metaphor. "A metaphor," she explains to the class, "-is the implied comparison between two things that are different but actually have something so important in common. Here are few examples for you!" She gives Kusi the nod, Kusi steps forward with his white placards and raises them up before the class, one, "All the world is a stage," he says, then two, "Smokers are chimneys!" and this is quite an imagery...
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STARS ARE THE HORIZON
When kindness opens its eyes to see
The endearing effort of humanity
When conscience stretches its hand to hold
The weary grip of a broken soul
When strength pulls to stand a fainting man
The difference between victory and defeat
Is a moment, a second, a sacrifice, a decision
A cluster of stars touching the horizon
Stars are the horizon
When will we get there?
When love that has refused to die, finds us, in time
When we rise above the dirt And stay on the horizon
Don't forget what here you read, don't forget how it makes you feel
Remember that kindness has eyes to see, what blind conscience already knows
We are the stars,
we are the horizon,
Stars are the horizon
†***†***†****†***†***†
Mr. Asiamah sits back in his chair and begins lecturing the class, he says,
"There's an interesting, very subtle metaphorical insight, which the poem gives while comparing people with the stars and the horizon. Why are we Stars? According to the poem, it is not because of fame or other popularity, rather, this kind of stardom is without any celebrity, because what is praised here is not the actual person but, the action of that person. Hence kindness and strength and conscience are cleverly personified, the imagery now is one of natural justice, and righteous actions, hope and compassion, but with a mythical possibility of every human's own ability to transcend mortality or to evolve from the dirt, the problems, the flaws, the weaknesses, the ailments or the state of the flesh, into a shining, twinkling star, and beyond this, because even an imagery of beyond this will be hard to capture in words, the poem chooses to explain that beyond the literal transition to a star, is the horizon. The horizon is never reached, do you know why? Because it is a shifting distance; the more you move, the more it also moves, you are on earth, pinned down by gravity, but it is not, it is, always ahead of you. This ability it has to always be ahead of us is what is being compared to a star, it's basic make-up is next level. Then, the idea that stars touch the horizon is fallacious, though sometimes it looks that way, from a distance. The concept of this poem presents that... though it sounds similarly fallacious, it is possible, for a person to reach his or her horizon or zenith or ultimate of transitioning, from mortality in the flesh to a perpetual, shining, twinkle goodness of a star. So here is an assignment, for all of you, before team B begins their own show, in sonnet style of fourteen lines, and using your own metaphors, tell me why people cannot become stars, and tell me why stars can never be the horizon itself."
Kate understands their teacher's assignment very well. His question is because of the poets question: stars are the horizon, when will we get there? When will all people of the earth be kind to each other, the strong one helping the weak, the ones who are wrong, saying sorry and healing the sad ones? It seems, maybe never, if ever, Kate does not know, she will have to ask her mother.
Kate recites another poem for the class, also taken from The Secret Opera House, and written by Therie Essien, called Dazzle. She recites it because she wants to know if it can pass for an Epigram. She identifies the Metaphor in it's first and second line...
†***†***†****†***†***†
DAZZLE
Your smile
Is a cluster curve of white diamonds
It's sparkly beams
Keep good times close
In this dark and gloomy
Endless rain
†***†***†****†***†***†
***REVIEW***
"Kate?"
"Yes, Mr. Asiamah?"
"Kusi?"
"Yes, Mr. Asiamah?"
"Kofi and Kojo?"
"Yes, Mr. Asiamah?"
"Is there any witty sense or uncommon wisdom, in this your 'Dazzle'?"
"No, Mr. Asiamah!"
"Aha. Then, it cannot pass for an Epigram."
"Yes Sir," Kate mumbles.
"I won't give you guys full score on Metaphor, because you didn't exhaust due diligence to research it. You didn't say anything about the expired metaphors. Why do we say, leg of a trip or body of an essay, when neither trips nor essays have body parts? Why do we call the submission date a deadline, when no one's going to die if your homework is a day late? Once upon a time, dead metaphors used to make perfect sense. Kweku!"
Kweku shoots up to his feet, "Yes, Sir?" he answers.
"Do you know what a dead metaphor is?"
"Yes Sir!" Kweku says.
"Please, teach Kusi's team 'A,' something about it."
"Yes Sir!" Kweku faces Kusi and his friends and begins to explain, "A dead metaphor is a figure of speech that is no longer connected to its actual original imagery. Its such an old expression that, unlike a regular metaphor, you have no idea what it's comparing. Example, if you call someone a laughing stock, you mean that they are acting in a way that deserves ridicule. You don't need to know about the medieval punishment that locks someone in the stocks, leaving them open to public taunting... even though that's exactly where laughing stock comes from."
"Excellent, Kweku! You may sit down, now," Mr. Asiamah says, then he addresses the whole class, "Class! Please read aloud, the metaphor in Stars Are The Horizon!"
The entire class responds,
"We are the Stars! We are the Horizon! Stars are the horizon!"
Mr. Asiamah says, "Clap for yourselves!" Now, as they slap their palms together, he eyes Kofi and says, "You are up, next!"
YOU ARE READING
KUSI'S LITERARY CLASS: {FIGURES OF SPEECH IN POETRY} Work In Progress!
Short StoryKUSI'S LITERARY CLASS (Figures of Speech in Poetry) Kusi and his friends are going to team up for their new and exciting assignment. Kusi is chosen as the Team Leader, and he must ensure that they all contribute to the project! He has a creative ide...
