ninehillsRAMBLE in the JUNGLE
Autonomy
By Wanaku Verdzekov · · The Cameroons
Tags: poem, self-rule, ambazonia
Autonomy is a natural thing:
A tree is a tree, water is water,
And human beings, self-sustaining,
Move by their own power.
Those who fear their neighbour's freedom
Waste their time in vain,
Trying to halt the unstoppable,
Avoiding the competition
That can't be held at bay.
People keep moving,
A movement of survival,
Like a surge of buffaloes
Across the Serengeti plains.
When it's time to move,
Not even lions can hold them back.
Self-rule is our birthright,
The essence of true governance.
AUTONOMY and SELF-RULE for AMBAZONIA:
That is the banner I raise.
TM
— Wanaku Verdzekov
Reading & grammar
Reading level: Gr 7–9
Understand
- What natural examples does the poem use for autonomy?
- What does the buffalo image suggest?
- What "banner" does the speaker raise?
Grammar focus: simile. "Like a surge of buffaloes / Across the Serengeti plains": a simile compares with like or as. It makes the idea of a people on the move vivid.
Try it: Write two similes that describe people moving together (a crowd, a team, a family).
Discuss: Is autonomy natural, as the poem says, or something that must be learned?