The methuselah shoplifter
GIDRAF MWANGI 1992 (Murang'a)
It was a hot humid evening
When the sun relentlessly kept shining
Reluctant to drown in the horizon
And the clouds nowhere to be seen
As I strolled around Mukuyu town
I gazed at this or watched that scene
I overheard gossips of women
And avidly watched games of children
Staring at the passersby
I saw this man with a head very baldy
So aged yet straight as a candle
Carrying an air of someone in trouble
His head slim, eyes bushy
Nose projectile, cheeks bony
A wide mouth with jagged teeth
His look! Oh my! Will leave you in mirth!
His clothes tattered and worn
Will give you an image of a being
Born in poverty, bred in famine
Wallowing in misery fate-hewn!
A guttural scream rent the air
Like a shriek by a toddler
The old man jumped with scare
And took off fast like a wild hare
The bunch of bananas under his arm
Were in a vice grip, away from harm
The old woman who had screamed
Tottered after him with a shaky stride
That’s the last I glimpsed
Of the Methuselah shoplifter
Through his features so vivid
Of him I shall always remember
© GIDRAF MWANGI
Font size:
Submitted by GIDRAF on May 21, 2021
Modified on April 11, 2023
- 1:00 min read
- 7 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABC XCBB DEFF DDXX XABX GHGG IIEE EHEH X |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,028 |
Words | 201 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 1 |
Translation
Find a translation for this poem in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The methuselah shoplifter" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/100528/the-methuselah-shoplifter>.
Discuss the poem The methuselah shoplifter with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In