Kofi Awoonor’s poem “The Sea Eats the Land at Home” was published in 1964 in his first collection, Rediscovery and Other Poems. An elegiac poem, written in free verse full of vivid imagery, it captures the destruction of a coastal African town by natural disaster. The sea in the poem is personified throughout, taking on greater metaphorical meaning in order to convey not just the all-consuming power of nature, but also the horrific devastation of colonization and the tragic loss of home and identity as a result of emigration.
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At home the ...
... back at night;
The sea eats ... land at home.
It came one ...
... land at home;
It is a ...
... the angry sea.
Aku stood outside ...
... Weeping mournfully.
Her ancestors have ...
... have deserted her,
It was a ...
... the cruel sea;
The lap-lapping of ...
... the living sea.
It has taken ...
... and her joy,
In the sea ...
... land at home.
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
Kofi Awoonor's Obituary — An obituary of the poet, tracing the cultural and familial roots of his poetry.
The Colonization of Ghana — A Khan Academy video chronicling the history of Ghana's colonization by Britain.
Ewe Funeral Dirge — Listen to the Smithsonian Folkways Recording's of an Ewe funeral dirge.
Kofi Awoonor's Life Story — A biography of the poet at the Poetry Foundation.
"Home" in Ghanaian Poetry — This article discusses “home” in Ghanaian poetry focusing on three well-regarded poets: Kofi Awoonor, Kofi Anyidoho, and Mawuli Adze.