ninehillsRAMBLE in the JUNGLE
Two Sides, Same Coin
By Wanaku Verdzekov · · Global
Tags: poem, language, culture, west-vs-africa
"My people will talk to your people,"
In the West, it's a lawyer's line,
An omen of papers, deals, and time:
Expect an arrest, await the sign.
But in Africa, the meaning shifts,
It's families drawn together to meet,
Where elders gather, words are gifts,
A bond sealed warmly, face to seat.
And all the while, the Earth spins on,
A thousand miles an hour, unseen,
One world beneath a single sun,
Yet how we speak, and what we mean.
TM
— Wanaku Verdzekov
Reading & grammar
Reading level: Gr 7–9
Understand
- What does "My people will talk to your people" mean in the West, according to the poem?
- What does the same phrase mean in Africa?
- What point does the last stanza make about the Earth and language?
Grammar focus: idioms. An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is not the sum of its words: "two sides of the same coin" means two things that look different but are closely linked. The poem shows how one phrase can carry different idiomatic meanings in different cultures.
Try it: Find an idiom in English and one in another language you know. Explain each literally and then idiomatically.
Discuss: Should international schools teach the cultural meaning of common phrases, not just their dictionary meaning?