PAIN WITHIN – A poem written and analyzed by Edem Fodeka

PAIN WITHIN

If smiles were for sale,
I would have bought enough
To feed all lips in the world
And my state of richness
Would have been a topic
Under the tree of Parliament
Where many foul mouths
Would gladly open
Their loose tongues
To patrol and feed ears
Readily saltier than salt

If pain were a fire
My being
A roasted chick
Would have been
But like the zip
My pain is under a shield
Covered with my little
Fake smile
Just to let them know
I am still who I am

If the pain within were a visible being
True lovers wouldn’t have died
Waving goodbye
To soul’s ears

A smile
Bright like the sunshine
Is not always a smile
In a heartily home
Some smiles
Cover pains under the shield

Edem Fodeka

Analysis of Edem Fodeka’s ‘PAIN WITHIN’

By Prince Litela Agbemedu (Probity~1)

‘Pain Within’ by Edem Fodeka is a sadness-invoking poem that discusses the dreading difficulties and depression, the high hardships, and the pool of pains and pangs that people go through secretly and silently despite the smiles, ebullience, and liveliness that clothe their faces. In the poem, the persona confesses that they are not happy although they walk around with smiles and seem to be their usual happy self.

The two-word title, PAIN WITHIN, is captivating and sets the scene for the development of the poem. The title obviously suggests that there is pain. And it is common knowledge that pain is not any good feeling and is not anything anybody wishes for since it does not give anyone joy. The mention of pain in the title already suggests that the poem is set on suffering and unpleasant sensation. This pain, however, is concealed, hence not seen. With this title that means suffering and unpleasant feelings that are hidden, the poem flows through its short lines like a small stream.

The poem begins with the conditional sentence _If smiles were for sale_ as the first line. The use of the conditional word _if_ means smiles are not actually for sale. The first line is therefore just drawing a hypothetical situation that in case smiles were for sale, something would happen, but what would happen?

The second line continues the first line, telling us what would happen if smiles were for sale. The second and third lines say, _I would have bought enough to feed all lips in the world_. If the persona could buy enough smiles—supposing they were for sale—to feed all lips in the world, it means the persona has so much wealth, and money is not their problem. The _smiles_ in the poem are symbolic of joy and happiness. The persona therefore is saying if joy and happiness are for sale, he would have bought enough for everyone. This makes it clear that joy and happiness are not dependent on wealth. This part of the poem, discussing wealth and happiness, brings an aspect of life, which many people misconstrue, to bare. Many people think and feel that once they (the people) or other people have wealth; so much wealth, they would be happy and have no cause to worry. This is not true because even the rich and privileged still have battles they battle with and this could be their source of worry and sadness. In the poem, the persona is very wealthy, but is still worried and sad. The persona continues to say that their state of richness would be highly spoken about by different people. This is seen in lines four to six.

The use of _parliament_ in line six suggests a meeting place or point for different people who gather and talk about other people’s lives and affairs, just like how in parliament, the MPs talk about their constituents and the citizens of the country rather than themselves.

In lines seven to eleven, the persona continues to tell which people are found under the tree of parliament and what they do. The persona says the people have foul mouths and they gladly open their loose tongues to talk about people’s issues to others. The last line of the first stanza says _Readily saltier than salt_. This suggests that these people with foul mouths do not just talk about people’s issues, but make the issues so delicious and tasty to ears by exaggerating so much beyond pardon. This is evidenced in the use of _saltier than salt_. Salt makes food tasty, but too much of it makes food uneatable, and this shows how bad people are painted through their own life issues. The parliament here therefore connotes gossip groups, and the synecdochical phrase, foul mouths, connotes gossips.

In the second stanza, the persona raises another hypothetical situation with a conditional sentence in the first line, _If pain were a fire_. The persona continues to say what would happen if pain were fire. They say that they would have been roasted chick. This is seen in lines two to four. This hypothetical situation paints a clear picture of the degree of pain that the persona is going through. Being roasted chick is the soft words for being dead. No roasted chick remains alive after being roasted. The persona therefore means that if the pain they are going through were fire, they would have been dead. The use of _chick_ which means a young bird, shows how easily they persona would have been roasted and killed rather than if they were older and mature birds.

However, this pain is hidden within and disguised with a smile which the persona calls a fake smile. Of course, nobody smiles when they’re in pain or suffering. Therefore, the persona is right, confessing that their smile is fake as what is happening to them in secret could kill them. This is seen in lines five to eight.

In the last two lines of the second stanza, the persona talks about why they wear fake smiles despite the suffering and pain consuming them. They say they do that to let them know that they are who they are. The _them_ in line nine refers to the gossips, the people or the society at large. But why? The persona ought to seek help when they are in pain and agony. So why keep the pain within and walk around with fake smiles? Is this not hypocrisy and pretence combined? Well, it could be, but the persona keeps the pain within because the people who they should talk to are the gossips who, in the end, would send the persona’s problems and troubles to under the tree of parliament where they would make the issues saltier than salt. The persona therefore finds it more convenient and comfortable to keep their pain within them, and walk around with fake smiles so as not to give the society the opportunity to cook and garnish the persona’s issues to become saltier than salt.

In the third stanza, the persona still raises another hypothetical situation: _If the pain within were a visible being_. With this, the persona is trying to create an image of pain being a person that can be seen. And what would have happened? The persona continues in the second to fourth lines that true lovers wouldn’t have died, waving goodbye to soul’s ears. The persona, in this stanza, is trying to make society aware that because pain is not seen for everyone to know what people are going through, true lovers, which are our loved ones, are lost to death. The persona could be silently advising that we should not wait for people to complain about their pains before we extend a helping hand. We could try finding out with slightest hint that we get about their condition or situations.

In the last stanza of the poem, the persona concludes sadly and solemnly that a smile, which they compare to sunshine, is not always a smile of happiness; rather, some smiles like the beautifully decorated graves, housing waste and dirts, are just the clothes covering the suffering and pain and agony and confusion and/or others. The use of _heartily_ in the fourth line of the stanza connotes happiness, joy, liveliness.

The poem is a touching poem that arouses sadness. It discusses a very common societal issue and as a result, it is very easy to relate to and understand. Edem Fodeka used simple, everyday words to transport his message. This makes the poem relatively easy to grasp. Edem Fodeka is successful in using very short lines in the poem. This shows the inability of the persona to talk very much and long at a time. This is one sure way to depict the pain and stress and sadness of the persona as people are not able to express themselves fluently and lengthily when gripped by gloom.

The poem is a free verse, segmented into four stanzas of unequal number of lines. This unequal number of lines in the various stanzas depicts the imbalances and contours and undulations in the persona’s life. Edem Fodeka, as in most of his poems, ignored punctuation therefore making the poem to flow without any hindrance. Whilst this technique could be ascribed to the freedom of speech of the persona to express their grief and pain and agony and suffering, it could also be said to be a flaw on the side of the poet as sadness-clothed poems such as PAIN WITHIN are mostly highly punctuated to hinder their free flow. This high punctuation gives the poems the slow, solemn tone and ultimately unveil the sad and gloomy mood they are pregnant with.

Edem Fodeka beautifully employs anaphora in the poem. The use of the conditional word _if_ to open each stanza of the poem creates anaphora. This, coupled with other poetic techniques and devices such as anastrophe and enjambment, portrays his poetic prowess and hoists him as an adept poet.

Edem Fodeka employed a number of silent figures of speech in his poem. Some of these figures of speech, if not looked at critically, could be missed. This is due to their silent and relatively hidden nature. This style of employing silent figures of speech is evidence of a great poet. These figures of speech amours the poem with poetic and artistic beauty and makes the poem, though a saddening piece, a fascinating piece to read. These are some of the figures of speech Edem Fodeka employed in his poem.

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PAIN WITHIN poem – Literary devices used

🦄 Hyperbole

1. I would have bought enough to feed all lips in the world.

2. Readily saltier than salt

🦄 Symbolism

1. If smiles were for sale (smiles connoting joy and happiness).

2. Under the tree of Parliament (parliament connoting gossip groups)

🦄 Synecdoche

1. To feed all lips in the world (All lips indicating all people)

2. Where many foul mouths (foul mouths represent people who speak bad about others)

3. To patrol and feed ears (Ears represent people who would be spoken/gossipped to)

🦄Simile

1. But like the zip

2. Bright like the sunshine

🦄 Metaphor

1. My being a roasted chick would have been.

2. And my state of richness would have been a topic…

3. If pain were fire

🦄 Personification

1. Their loose tongues to patrol and feed ears

🦄 Euphemism

1. Foul mouths and loose tongues.

2. A roasted chick would have been.

🦄 Alliteration

1. If the pain within were visible…

2. In a heartily home

3. Some smiles

🦄 Assonance

1. A smile, bright like the sunshine

This poem, PAIN WITHIN, is a simple, beautiful poem that seeks to change the notion that once one smiles, they are fine and everything is fine with them. I love the poem not only because of its simplicity, but also because of its relevance as far as life as whole is concerned.