This Sky Is Bleak Poem by Adegbite Adeyinka

The poem paints the picture of a hardworking person who often speaks on behalf of others who are faced with the same problems as he is (he often says "we" to suggest he is not in the situation alone) . However, as much as they work hard, they get no reward for their hard work as they are always lacking ("though wielding, not yielding; we are in dearth")

In the second stanza, they take to spirituality and beg for divine inspiration ("a bud")which they could put to use to fill up their lack now and those of the future ("To fill our barns, our barns for afterbirth") .

In the third stanza, he self-reflects to see what could be the origin of their problems. Whether it is their human nature that brings the havoc and causes the lack ("Is our soul evil as a dark mud... or our soil as eerie as a scud")

In the last stanza, they praise their hard work and effort to better their lots ("Our hands are dirty, we soiled our spud")yet they fear that the future may never be better ("Our hope for harvest may be a stillbirth")