A Call By George Awoonor-Williams

She did not call me by name
Not by the name my mother gave me
She called me by another name
A word
I have not heard it before
Yet I knew it was me.
Will you come under the cashew tree beside the cemetery?

I know no cashew tree beside the cemetery
No, I don't.
Yet I will go.
Perhaps a revelation awaits me
Have they discovered the coloured cowrie?
Or the specific herbs that will conjure
They perhaps have found the lost wanderer
I went after her.
She stood still beneath the cashew
And spoke not a word.

Poem Analysis

This lyrical poem gives a feeling of mystery. It describes the type of event that would take place in a dream. It is as if the poet is being lured away; he knows this and yet he goes. Who is she? Could this be a love poem?
These lines gives details that take the poem beyond love poetry.

coloured cowrie  object of divination
the lost wanderer  this expression is often the symbol for somebody who travels, by himself, in search of knowledge

So could she be the Muse of Poetry? This would explain the references to the kinds of magic or mystic experience and knowledge that the poet often attributes to the poetry.

Describe the mood of the poem, pointing out the details that lead to your interpretation.