We used to fight flies and heat
In the bullet ridden grass thatched huts,
We lived in the hope of milk and honey.
We tried to share the little we got with guerrilla forces
Who lived in hope too and tried
To survive with little or no food and water
Tyre sandals for shoes and old clothes looted or donated.
The signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement united us.
Yes! We were united: together, Army and ordinary Citizens.
We decorated our bodies with ostrich feathers;
We danced and smiled, we laughed and celebrated
Together, we ate, together we drank,
Together we poured libations to bless the spirits
Of the fallen heroes buried or abandoned.
The Guerrilla Generals-turned-Politicians
Cruised the V-8 vehicles in our new dustbowl
They swim amidst ill-hooked wealth,
Cool Juba heat with the air conditioners
Chilling out of the newly furnished
Bungalows and palaces.
We fight flies and fan off the airless heat in congested
Tin roofed shelters without ceiling boards
And ventilated window - after Naivasha Days.
Emmanuel Monychol (20th century) South Sudan
Source: Suubi, The African Writers' Trust, 2013
who is the persona of the poem
ReplyDeleteHI, thanks for your question. I get a lot of questions posted about the poems I put on this blog, often because the poems are set as homework in literature studies. So I try never to give a direct answer as that doesn’t really help the person asking the question to understand the poem. Instead I try and point them towards an answer they can figure out for themselves.
DeleteSo you ask “who is the persona?”
Well think about what this poem is describing: it’s a picture of what life was like before and after a war where there were “guerrilla forces” (line 4) and the “Army” (line 9 – spaces not counted). So the persona here must be one of four possible points of view: someone on the guerrilla side, someone on the army side or an objective third party (say a foreign news reporter). Or, fourthly, are they just an ordinary citizen who is just caught up in it all?
There are several clues about which of the four possible personas it could be: look at the following:
1) The first three lines describe the way the person writing the poem used to live;
2) The fourth line tells us which of the warring sides they are most linked in with (guerrilla or army?);
3) The first line of the third stanza describes what happened after the peace accord – does this relate directly to the persona?;
4) The last stanza is a recapitulation of the first three lines, telling us what life is like now.
When you take all these clue together it should be obvious which of the four possible personas is being taken in this poem. I like the poem because of its vivid imagery and political satire.
Hi,thankyou so much about your explanation in this poem.
Delete1. What do the speaker and his companions used to endure?
Delete2. . What did they hope for?
3. What situation is presented in the poem?
Please answer it
what do the speakerand his companions used to endure?
ReplyDeleteWhat are the three effects of war to the people?
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete1. What do the speaker and his companions used to endure?
2. . What did they hope for?
3. What situation is presented in the poem
Guys what is the answer in this questions???
Delete