A Pupil of Papua New Guinea

A Pupil of Papua New Guinea I live in a village deep in the jungle And cross rivers on foot and by wooden boat Westerns have come but have not taken our pride Village men perform an ancient ritual, A tribal dance Honoring their ancestors and praying for a safe journey and return for their children ,dad’s niece and son They wear leafy palm skirts , tribal prints , face masks , body paint and headdresses They drum to a beat and sing in silence Well into the morning The ceremony calls for no emotion Such equates to weakness and vulnerability A seven-day voyage to school awaits Father , a farmer goes with son and niece Father gave all he had For his son to be taught and to have The school nearest us have closed It still stands , neat and clean With desks , a blackboard and chalk Broken into pieces Aunty takes us in for the night We are fed white sweet potatoes , yams The school lies far into the distance Behind the furthest mountain at the horizon There lies the toughest and largest river we have. The water is cold I can’t tell what it holds Dad warns against the dark brown venomous snake That kills with one bite It mixes in with the the dirt and the roots Large birds and buffalo roam the area, too This green python camouflages in the tree It wraps itself around a thin brown branch surrounded by green leaves It has no venom and is good to eat The boy catches it with a trap he made Puts a loop around its neck and grabs it away His dad cooks it traditionally in bamboo The river has crocodiles, We pay for a ferry, a canoe Boy jumps out of canoe and hides There was no convincing him otherwise At 8 years old, the boy’s journey ends Even at his fathers disappointment and expense His niece, 12, though scared, carries on her way Two men row her away She continues the path alone The river connects us to the world outside Though many drown and die She made it to school The day before, She slept in the jungle, all alone She gave $100 for one year of boarding school Her family’s savings Is put to use The class is full She would have been turned away But her long trip was reconsidered So she stays As the only person from her village She’s proud Here to learn English , social studies and arithmetic Here to eat and to play Here for confidence in another day Marckincia Jean Narrative 06/16/19