Abiku poem by wole soyinka biography

Wole Soyinka's poem "Abiku" explores the haunting and cyclical nature of life and death through the figure of Abiku, a spirit child in Yoruba mythology who is believed to die and be reborn repeatedly, causing endless grief for the mothers who bear him.

The poem delves into the themes of fate, cultural beliefs, and the inevitability of death, as well as the tension between the spiritual and the material worlds.

The poem begins with Abiku defiantly rejecting the attempts to bind him to the physical world: "In vain your bangles cast / Charmed circles at my feet / I am Abiku, calling for the first / And the repeated time." The "charmed circles" and "bangles" are symbols of protection and rituals meant to ward off evil or prevent the spirit from leaving.

However, Abiku declares that these efforts are futile, as he is destined to come and go as he pleases, emphasizing the "first / And the repea