She Died

She leaned on my shoulders and never woke up again

Her hot tears scalded me as they streamed down my back

Lifelessly she hung by me and nobody else felt her pulse

Couldn’t see her lips move but felt she had a bit to say

They argued and agreed she was as dead as a door nail

 

I am here now and you can talk to me I whispered to her

Her pains, fears and heartbreak took shapes before me

Fought back my tears as my heart melted to her ordeals

Urged her to agree with them that she was totally dead

Lost to the world of everything else but the two of us

Tiny warmth, strength of a woman within her heart

Fanned into unquenchable embers of affectionate flames

By the words I sang into her ears and rubbed into her skin

 

I told her she didn’t need to worry her pretty head off

She raised her head, looked me in the eyes and smiled at me

I smiled, she smiled, we smiled and our hearts glowed

And her feelings and soul died to all that hurt her in the past

Held her tenderly yet with arms so firm like no other

My strength and aura were the assurances she needed

Kissed her and promised her that everything is alright

She never woke up to the fears that brought her to me

Emeka Amakeze

Ikuku Uguru

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Culture Transmission: The Youths Approach

Culture which can be defined as the art, music, literature and other intellectual expressions of a particular society in time, transmits from one age to another, from one generation to the other. 

The transmission of culture can either occur consciously or unconsciously. Each age has their own concepts and specific techniques of encountering the transmission of culture. In the same vein, the youths of each age assume a peculiar approach to cultural values which more often than not manifest in the form of constant re-enactment of acceptance and rejection, modification and fine tuning of the cultural values of the passing age.

The youths are often challenged to sift the values of the passing age in preservance of modern and current values, thereby making it one fundamental feature of any cotemporary culture that the modern and current values are the requisites from whatever cultural values the youths of an age would preserve from the past ages.

The youths are always opposed to the consistency of cultural values from one age to the other. By virtue of their constant dynamic reactions to new realities and novel discoveries, the youths argue that the cultural values upheld by a past age should not have any influence on those of the modern age. Thereby holding the concept of change as a constant in culture and culture transmission.

However, being conscious of this attitude of the youths of every age towards culture and culture transmission and knowing full well that one day, the youths of today will become elders of tomorrow and would expect the youths of such generation to be tied to the values of their past age, a compromise is all that is needed.

Liberty should be given to the maintainance or marriage of some of the cultural values of a passing age and the modern and current ones. What the youths deem unbecoming of the passing age should not be forced on them. Attempts to do so , even in the past have always yeilded nothing but widening the gap of cultural perspective between the past ages and the youths.

Emeka Amakeze writes