In those days
When civilization kicked us in the face
When holy water slapped our cringing brows
The vultures built in the shadow of their talons
The bloodstained monument of tutelage.
In those days
There was painful laughter on the metallic hell of the
roads
And the monotonous rhythm of the paternoster
Drowned the howling on the plantations.
O the bitter memories of extorted kisses
Of promises broken at the point of a gun
Of foreigners who did not seem human
Who knew all the books but did not know love.
But we whose hands fertilize the womb of the earth
In spite of your songs of pride
In spite of the desolate villages of torn Africa
Hope was preserved in us as in a fortress
And from the mines of Swaziland to the factories of
Europe
Spring will be reborn under our bright steps.
Line 5 tutelage state of being under the guardianship or teaching of another, referring here to the colonial state.
Line 8 paternoster the prayer Our Father
Line 10 extorted forced, referring to the liberties the slave-owners and colonial masters took with the women under them.
Line 19 Spring is the season in cold countries when the snows of winter begin to disappear, the sun emerges with more force and things begin to grow anew. It is symbolic of new life, of rebirth.
What are the conditions in the poem that made the poet angry?
What are the differences he draws between the colonisers and the Africans, and the kind of hope he has for the future?
Do you share the poet's feelings?
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