My Heart Leaps Up
(or “The Rainbow”)
My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.
William Wordsworth
Words from a poem by William Wordsworth – “the child is father of the man” – assumed relevance in the performance of a recent play on the Guyanese stage. Significantly, these words from the nineteenth century come to the fore in the wake of World Poetry Day, celebrated last week on March 21.
The play in question was “Secrets (Father of the Man)” by Paloma Mohamed, produced and directed by Simone Dowding, performed earlier this month (on March 3) in honour of its status as a play that won the Guyana Prize for Drama in 2002. It was staged during the Guyana Prize Literary Festival and was part of the continuing initiative from Minister of Culture Charles Ramson, which ensures that the Guyana Prize winning plays, many of which have been lying on the shelf, get to be seen on stage. The ministry provides all the funding for these productions while the producers and performers get, not only the payment of production costs, but all the income from ticket sales.