Once upon a time by Gabriel Okara

This is the best poem by Gabriel Okra and I like it most. This shows the "laughter" of the modern man. In this poem a grandfather is talking to his grandson and in the past he has expressed the fall of 'nostalgia'. He tells his son that once people met each other with heart, they laughed with their eyes, and they laughed with their teeth. But the time has changed. Now people are not more interested in meeting anyone with complete heart. This is a very true poem for reality. The society and the people around us pushed us to become 'artificial' at every stage of life. They taught us to wear many masks at the same time. This is the most beautiful line,

And I have also learned
Just laugh with my teeth
And shake hands without my heart.
I have also learned to say 'goodbye'
When I mean 'good-redundancy':
Saying 'Have Fun With You'
Without pleasure; And say 'it's done
After getting bored, talk to you nice.

Reminds me of 'Fire & Ice' poetry by Robert Frost. Which poet said that the days of physical war have gone? People now fight "with hateful chills." People live well in your presence but inside you hate cold blood.

The last stanza is even more interesting. It represents this idea that children are the most innocent in the world. So an older man wants to be like a child. And he expresses his desire to 'unlearn' what he has learned. But it is very difficult for anyone to unlearn things and to invent new knowledge.

Finally, I want to give a new title to poetry, which is "the laugh of modern man".