YOUR PAIN BY ARMANDO GEUBUZA, Selected Poems by Tanzania Institute of Education
He was a Mozambican president and a Frelimo militant from the early stages of the liberation struggle.
YOUR PAIN BY ARMANDO GEUBUZA
Your pain
yet more my pain
shall suffocate oppression.
Your eyes
yet more my eyes
shall be speaking of revolt.
Your scars
yet more my scars
Will be remembering the whip.
My hands
yet more your hands
Will be lifted fully armed.
My strength
yet more your strength
shall overcome imperialism.
My blood
yet more your blood shall irrigate our victory.
GUIDING QUESTIONS:
Qn 1. What is the poem all about?
Answ: The poem is all about the call of the members of the society to unite together to wage struggle against the oppressive forces. The persona is shown to have negative attitudes towards colonial domination that is why he conscientizes his fellow members to wage armed struggle so as to remove it (colonialism).
Qn 2. Who is speaking in the poem?
Answ: The one who is speaking in this poem is a militant and also a member of this society which is under colonial domination (grip).
Qn 3. Who is the addressee of the poem?
Answ: The addressees of the poem are the fellow members of the society (militant). The persona urges his fellow members of the society to wake up from deep sleep and take an action to remove the oppressive forces which undermine their social community development.
Qn 4. What is the setting of this poem?
Answ: The setting of this poem is during colonial era (time).
Qn 5. What is the tone of the poem?
Answ: The tone of the poem is serious and sad. Generally, the persona is not happy with colonialism.
Qn 6. What is the mood of the poem?
Answ: The mood of the poem is exciting as it encourages us to stage a revolution against the oppressors (colonialists).
Qn 7. What kind of a poem is this?
Answ: This is a didactic poem as the persona gives instructions to the addressee on what should be done to liberate their society from colonial rule.
Qn 8. Comment on the use of figures of speech and musical devices. Answ: Figures of speech.
Personification “eyes shall be speaking of revolt”
“Scars will be remembering the whip”
Overstatement. “blood to irrigate the victory”
Symbolism
The words “scars” and “whip” symbolizes colonial torture while the word “blood” stands for sacrifice.
Qn 9. What are the possible themes found in this poem?
Answ: The possible themes found in this poem are colonial oppression, sacrifice, awareness, conscientization as well as unity and armed struggle.
(i) Colonial oppression.
This is one of the themes discussed by the poet in this poem. People in this society are subjected to colonial torture and oppression, for example they are having scars all over their bodies as a result of being whipped by the colonialists.
(ii) Awareness.
This also is another theme of this poem. The persona is shown to have awareness that colonial rule is of no any benefit to them that is why he conscientizes his fellows to overthrow it. Not only that but also the persona is aware that unity is the strongest weapon to fight against any oppressive forces that is why he wants to unify his fellows to overthrow colonialism.
(iii) Unity and armed struggle.
In this poem the persona urges his fellows to unite together so as to overthrow the existing oppressive forces (colonialists) through armed struggle. The words “armed” and “blood” symbolizes the presence of armed struggle in this society. Consider the fourth stanza of this poem when the persona says:
“My hands
yet more your hands
will be lifted fully armed.”
(iv) Sacrifice.
The persona of this poem is shown to be very strong and courageous enough to fight against the oppressors (colonialists), he is not afraid of death as he is ready to die fighting that is why he encourages his fellows to sacrifice their lives by waging war against the colonialists for the sake of their society.