Hi I am Donna from Norwich & I have chosen John Keats “Ode to a nightingale” as this poem has had a big impact on me because it inspired me to appreciate, write poetry and to finally become a published “Modern Day, New World” Poet to give and share my poems with the world.

The premise of Keats poem “Ode to a nightingale” I believe is a very personal, passionate & imaginative poem as he describes his journey into the state of negative human capability, emotions and at the fate destined to all humankind, that of mortality, whereas he imagines the nightingale, songbird is capable of living through it's song therefore becoming immortalised, which he believes is a fate that humans cannot expect but describes that one has to inevitably accept ones mortality as this is a part of life and the human condition.

However in the last stanza, Keats a romantic dreamer poet, describes and questions was it all a vision or a waking dream, do I wake or sleep? It tends to make me believe that he was questioning Whether life was indeed a reality, dream or mere imagination? It makes one ponder?

I was greatly influenced, effected & inspired by the Late Great Poet John Keats since that fortuitous and perhaps destined day in the summer of 1984 when my English Uncle Douglas invited me - being a very impressionable young girl at that time - to holiday in England as I had never been before as I had been born and raised in Harare, Zimbabwe. Whilst sight seeing in London with my Uncle, he took me to visit Keats House in Hampstead and as I sat under the infamous plum tree where Keats had sat and been inspired by the nightingale's song to write his poem “Ode to a nightingale” I felt connected, enlightened and inspired to become creative and write poetry and hopefully to become a poet one day. Keats great poetry works impacted and changed my life direction forever as I connected with his poems that he shared and I have him to thank for inspiring me to write poetry & to finally publish my very first Donna Africa Poetry Book last year.

I pay my greatest respects and homage to the late great Poet John Keats, a young romantic poet, who passionately believed beauty to be truth and truth to be beauty & who tragically died at the age of 25 convinced that he had not made his mark on this world and that he had failed as his poetry work unfortunately was only appreciated and to become famous after his death, like most struggling artists.

Finally, John Keats Poetry work has indeed become immortalised just like the nightingale's song and I would like to imagine that John Keats soul became one with the nightingale's song, together immortalised, to live forever on and on...

With Luv, Light and Liberty,
Yours
Donna Africa xx
www.donnaafrica.co.uk