Analysis of Who Are We?
Jabulani Mhlaoli 1998 (Sebokeng)
From the dark forces of the past,
that has hidden the fossils of our forefathers;
hoping we find no meaning
within ourselves -
We seem lost,
a disconnection from our roots
has landed us here,
rooting for Shakespeare;
diluting our own atmosphere
with dire stains from the West,
Who are we?
__
Descendants of the future,
Inside me hangs a picture
never perfect but
convincingly worthy
of your attention -
Between the cracks
of yesterday,
today and tomorrow
lies a prayer
for better days -
But the days
keep worsening
every other passing day;
Uprooted,
Who are we?
__
Now that our forefathers
have resorted to the spiritual world,
they exist as a separate entity;
While we, on the other hand
seem to have lost our identity -:
We have been westernized
that we can no longer be recognized
by our fellows from other parts of Africa;
Who, exactly are we?
Scheme | abcdefgghiJKllmjnopqrsscptJKbujvjwwxj |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10110101 111001011010 1011110 01001 111 00101101 11011 1011 01010110 111101 111 1 0101010 0111010 10011 010010 11010 0101 110 01001 101 1101 101 1100 10010101 010 111 1 111010 10101010001 1011010100 1110101 1111100100 11110 111110110 1101011011100 101011 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 812 |
Words | 151 |
Sentences | 3 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 37 |
Lines Amount | 37 |
Letters per line (avg) | 18 |
Words per line (avg) | 4 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 674 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 151 |
About this poem
This piece, reflects on the roots of the Africans, the ancestral roots, to be precise, forgotten by people of my country.
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Written on July 27, 2021
Submitted by Mhlaoli on July 27, 2021
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 45 sec read
- 4 Views
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"Who Are We?" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/105850/who-are-we%3F>.
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