ninehillsRAMBLE in the JUNGLE
Words for Peace: No Need for Armies
By Wanaku Verdzekov · · Africa & the Gulf of Guinea
Tags: poem, limerick, militarism, africa
In Africa's lands wide and grand,
They build armies to take a stand,
But who do they fight?
Their own, day and night:
It's time that we all understand.
These soldiers, they march with pride,
But often, they're on the wrong side.
Not foes from afar,
But neighbours they scar,
With nowhere for citizens to hide.
Why spend on these guns and these tanks,
When hunger lines stretch with no thanks?
Let's feed every mouth,
And turn lives around,
Put peace and not war in our ranks.
So, think hard before you enlist,
When violence is top of the list.
Your target's not foes,
But those that you know:
It's a truth we can no longer dismiss.
TM
— Wanaku Verdzekov
Reading & grammar
Reading level: Gr 7–9
Understand
- According to the poem, who do African armies often fight?
- What does the speaker suggest spending money on instead of guns and tanks?
- What warning does the last stanza give to people thinking of enlisting?
Grammar focus: the limerick form. A limerick has five lines rhyming AABBA; lines 1, 2 and 5 are longer, lines 3 and 4 short: "But who do they fight? / Their own, day and night". The bouncy form usually carries humour, so using it for a serious topic creates irony.
Try it: Mark the AABBA pattern in stanza 3. Then write a limerick of your own about a serious school issue.
Discuss: Does a country need an army if it has no external enemies? Argue both sides.