Futa Toro

By Mariama Khan

In “Futa Toro”, one swims through a complete artistic success, reflecting great love for children, a grateful feeling to all good things, love and care for people and nature and particularly, strong expressions on family – a proof of a loving mother and a dedicated wife. She is able to expose the deep feelings for human nature, an equivocal stand for women’s rights and a strong anger against injustice.

Great love for children

Mariama is conscious of the frailty and the innocence in children as well as their vulnerability. In the “The Boy Lying at the Elf Station”, she expresses the womanly love  and care for a lost child who lives hopeless of human care. Mariama’s use of words touches deep the human heart and bring the urge to want to care for those hopeless lonely children lying in the streets, whose fate is no fault of theirs; “Child Soldier” also addresses  the unfortunate lost child, used by forces beyond his control, impervious to the dangers looming over him and drawing him nearer to self destruction. The poet calls to the child to come back.

The most touching perhaps, is the three poems specifically dedicated to her children. Yet in reading them, not only is one attached to those particular children but to all children of tender age. In “The Young Man Muhammad”, “The Muhammad I Know” and “Baby Mystery”, poems dedicated to Muhammad and Omar Bun Sabally, one discovers the motherly love and blatant observation of these lovely creatures of God. In “Mother care”, one feels the concern of the mother for the “little bud.”

Grateful & thankful

Gambians are proud and thankful to their Scorpions and Mariama has the talent of knitting beautiful words in gratitude to their courage. She has dedicated a special poem for them entitled “Scorpions”. In “Wonder at Work” and “Survival”, Mariama sings praises of good things and good people. The last poem must be meant for parents whose child now reaches the age to thank them for bringing it up and in appreciation, assuring them of making them proud parents.

Love and care

Mariama loves and cares for many things and this is reflected in her poems. She loves nature and either uses nature in imagery  or defines its true beauty. “Canary Bird”, “Scared”, “Trapped” and “The Jungle” are poems centred on nature and creatures. The poet shows their frailty and the menace around them. For love and care for the Gambia, she dedicates “Juffureh”, “Prayer for the Gambia”, Saint Augustine’s High School” and “Scorpions”. She will not forget her husband, Momdou Sabally in “Virtuous Light”, a strong poem with every character of her husband’s name defining his qualities. It makes every man envy Mr Sabally. She must have dedicated “Motherly – Dad” to the same person where other beautiful qualities are expressed. She loves to defend Women ‘s rights and she will dedicate some of her poems to women. “Njobene Woman” is one good example. “Futa Toro” is a powerful opener poem of love for her origins as a Toro lady.

Strong messages

She leaves no stone unturned in her collection of poems as she rebukes certain attitudes such as skin bleaching (Challenge), infidelity (Clinton prayer), infatuation (The wrong ways of men), hypocrisy (Boss), Injustice (Nowhere to Hide) and personification (Professor).

In fact each of the above examples carry stronger messages than indicated. “Nowhere to Hide” expresses the injustices of war and the long suffering of the innocent. “Professor” must have been a bad experience when lecturers claiming to acquire a certain level of education, are incapable  of behaving as doing what is required of them or cannot reflect the level of education acquired. Many other poems express anger, sorrow, rejection and many more. Their messages are clear and it can take pages to explain everything on every poem.

Conclusion

The poet acknowledges the invaluable contributions of certain people namely her husband (ex-husband now), Mr Momodou Sabally, who has been very supportive and who took time to read through the poems and edit them. She thanks Mr Ousmane Senghor of PADEF (now working for the Curriculum department at DoSBE), Mr Baba Galleh Jallow, co-proprietor of the Independent Newspaper (now studying in the USA) and Mr Saihou Bah, Principal of Bakau Upper Basic School (now Principal Sheick Mass Kah Islamic Senior secondary school). She expresses a special gratitude to all these people for their valuable and generous support. She dedicates this collection to her Boys with love: Abdul Wahab Jammeh, Omar Bun Sabally and Muhammad Sabally.

Mariama Khan also extends sincere gratitude to a special person, a renown artist of great talent, Mr Njogu Touray. Njogu is a selfless artist whose works are today hanging in offices and homes of powerful people all over the world. He was born in 1960 and has participated in group and solo exhibitions in many countries: The Gambia, England, Italy, Senegal, the United States and Germany but to name a few. In some of these countries, exhibitions were mounted in several cities. He has an art studio called the Sukura Art Studio in Serrekunda. It is to this illustrious artist that Mariama Khan confided the design of the front cover and the back page to which he dedicated all his time. One has to see the designs to appreciate their beauty.

If literature is Art and Art is defined as our way of life, Mariama’s poetry is the mirror through which we see the reflection of our feelings.