LET ME WRITE A LETTER - A POEM REMINISCING LOVE IN NIGERIA'S 1950s & 1960s

Let Me Write A Letter

I'm foolish to the way out of the carver's house 

You have boiled me to solid

My tired eyelids could therefore close no more

For you're the trap that has sprung them

The night market has come with its symptoms 

Now, I blame my eyes that set themselves on you

Smooth like sheer butter

You're the market entire

Never the trinket one buys to forget desire

The wood pecker pecks the wood for tomorrow 

The village weaver has woven the future today

Whither we shall eat and be clothed lies in state

Has the kiln fired my name with honour?

The weaving loom doesn't sag to produce for the new bride

Hasten and let us lock horns

Feasting from the calabashes of Onilese 

Fulfilling the tubers, nuts and beads that are customary

Olusola ADEJUMO.

Literary Analysis of Let Me Write A Letter: An Olusola ADEJUMO's Poem

Introduction

Let Me Write A Letter is a nostalgic love poem that recreates the atmosphere of courtship in Nigeria during the 1950s and 1960s. Through rich indigenous imagery, proverbial expressions and cultural symbols, the speaker writes to the woman he loves, expressing admiration, emotional surrender and his desire for marriage. Rather than relying on conventional romantic clichés, the poem draws its strength from African communal life, craftsmanship, market culture and traditional marriage customs.

Subject Matter

The poem explores traditional love and courtship as practised in mid-twentieth century Nigeria. It portrays a man who is deeply captivated by a woman and who gradually moves from admiration to an honourable proposal of marriage.

It is not merely about falling in love; it is about preparing for a shared future according to cultural values.

Themes

1. Love

Love dominates every stanza.

The speaker cannot sleep because of his beloved. She occupies his thoughts and transforms his emotions.

"My tired eyelids could therefore close no more"

The line suggests that genuine affection disturbs ordinary routines.

2. Admiration of Beauty

The beloved is presented as someone of incomparable worth.

"Smooth like sheer butter/

You're the market entire"

Rather than comparing her to flowers or jewels, the poet measures her value through the abundance of a thriving marketplace.

3. Courtship and Marriage

From the third stanza onward, the poem moves beyond attraction into preparation for marriage.

"Has the kiln fired my name with honour?"

The speaker begins to question his readiness and worthiness.

Later,

"Hasten and let us lock horns"

becomes an invitation to unite their lives.

4. Industry and Preparation

The poem repeatedly celebrates work.

The woodpecker works.

The weaver prepares.

The loom produces.

These images suggest that successful marriage requires preparation rather than mere emotion.

5. Cultural Heritage

Perhaps the strongest theme.

Everything in the poem belongs to indigenous Nigerian life.

Markets.

Carvers.

Calabashes.

Beads.

Tubers.

Traditional marriage customs.

The poem becomes a preservation of cultural memory.

Stanza-by-Stanza Analysis

First Stanza

"I'm foolish to the way out of the carver's house

You have boiled me to solid

My tired eyelids could therefore close no more

For you're the trap that has sprung them"

This stanza introduces emotional captivity.

The speaker confesses that love has overpowered his reason.

The "carver's house" may symbolize a place where the speaker's heart has been reshaped, while "boiled me to solid" suggests permanent emotional transformation.

The inability to sleep reflects overwhelming desire.

The final line portrays the beloved as a hunter whose trap has successfully captured him.

Dominant ideas are emotional surrender, fascination, power of love.

Second Stanza

"The night market has come with its symptoms

Now, I blame my eyes that set themselves on you

Smooth like sheer butter

You're the market entire

Never the trinket one buys to forget desire"

The night market represents excitement, abundance and temptation.

The speaker blames his own eyes for beginning this journey of love.

The beloved is no longer one attractive object among many.

She is the entire marketplace.

This metaphor elevates her above every other attraction.

Dominant ideas are beauty, desire, exclusiveness.

Third Stanza

"The wood pecker pecks the wood for tomorrow

The village weaver has woven the future today

Whither we shall eat and be clothed lies in state

Has the kiln fired my name with honour?"

This stanza shifts from romance to responsibility.

The woodpecker and the village weaver become symbols of preparation.

Marriage requires provision.

The speaker therefore asks whether society and perhaps destiny has judged him worthy.

The kiln symbolizes testing, maturity and honour.

Dominant ideas are preparation, responsibility, readiness for marriage.

Fourth Stanza

"The weaving loom doesn't sag to produce for the new bride

Hasten and let us lock horns

Feasting from the calabashes of Onilese

Fulfilling the tubers, nuts and beads that are customary"

The final stanza functions almost as a proposal.

The weaving loom symbolizes continuous labour in preparation for married life.

"Lock horns" suggests union, determination and commitment.

The mention of calabashes, tubers, nuts and beads recalls traditional marriage rites and communal celebration.

The poem ends not with a kiss but with culture.

Dominant ideas are marriage, tradition and communal celebration.

Figures of Speech

Metaphor

"You have boiled me to solid."

Love permanently transforms the speaker.

"You're the market entire."

The beloved is compared to the totality of abundance.

"You're the trap that has sprung them."

The speaker's eyes have been captured by love.

Personification

"The night market has come with its symptoms."

The market behaves like a living visitor.

"The village weaver has woven the future today."

The future is treated as something tangible.

Symbolism

The poem is rich in symbols.

Carver's house - transformation

Night market - attraction and abundance

Woodpecker - diligence

Weaver - preparation

Kiln - testing and honour

Loom - productivity

Calabash - communal celebration

Tubers, nuts and beads - customary marriage rites

Hyperbole

"My tired eyelids could therefore close no more."

An exaggeration used to show overwhelming love.

Imagery

The poem appeals strongly to the senses.

Visual imagery:

Smooth like sheer butter

Cultural imagery:

Markets.

Carving.

Weaving.

Pottery.

Marriage ceremonies.

Language

The language of the poem is:

Elevated.

Poetic.

Deeply metaphorical.

Rich in indigenous symbolism.

Influenced by Yoruba proverbial expression.

Nostalgic and ceremonial in tone.

The diction avoids modern romantic vocabulary and instead relies on traditional occupations, communal practices and cultural artefacts to communicate affection. This makes the poem feel authentically Nigerian rather than imitative of foreign romantic traditions.

Mood

Romantic

Reflective

Hopeful

Nostalgic

Ceremonial

Tone

The speaker's tone is:

Affectionate

Respectful

Earnest

Confident

Reverential

Style

The poem is written in free verse, allowing ideas to flow naturally without a fixed rhyme scheme or metrical pattern. Its style is distinguished by:

Extended metaphors.

Indigenous imagery.

Symbolic language.

Proverbial expressions.

Gradual progression from admiration to proposal.

Cultural allusions to traditional Yoruba marriage customs.

Overall Evaluation

"Let Me Write A Letter", succeeds because it resists the temptation to imitate Western romantic conventions. Instead, it constructs love through the language of work, craft, honour, markets and customary marriage rites. Every image serves the larger purpose of showing that, in traditional Nigerian society, love was not merely an emotion to be confessed but a commitment to be prepared for, tested and celebrated within the community.

© Olusola ADEJUMO.