African Poetry: Refugee Mother and Child Name : Avni J Dave Semester : 04 Roll no : 03 Paper no : 14 African Literature Topic : Refugee Mother & Child Submitted to : Smt S. B. Gardi Department of the English, MKBU Refugee Mother and Child by Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe was very well-known for his work on post-colonialism; his upbringing in southeastern Nigeria made his childhood a firsthand experience into the world of colonialism, and has fuelled such works as Things Fall Apart, the most well-known work of African literature today. Most don’t even associate the name Achebe with his poetry, and yet poems such as Refugee Mother and Child prove that the incredible talent Achebe possessed with the written word did not end with novels alone. No Madonna and Child could touch That picture of a mother’s tenderness For a son she soon would have to forget. The air was heavy with odours Of diarrhoea of unwashed children With washed-out ribs and dried-up Bottoms strug