This is the second part of S.E.K. Mqhayi’s poem “The Grave of the King”, which was originally published in the Xhosa newspaper, Izwi Labantu on December 8th 1908.
We have a river,
A river of great strength…
The Grave of the King — Part One
The Bird of the Forest Grows Restless
The following poem by the Xhosa imbongi, David Livingston Phakamile Yali-Manisi (1926–1999), was performed at a conference hosted by the University of Natal Oral Documentation and Research Centre (South Africa) in 1985.
The forest bird grows restless
one who always goes when sent…
Anti-Apartheid Protest Poems (part five)
The penultimate in a series of six poems from the Xhosa poet, Melikhaya Mbutuma. This was recited in February 1963, two months after the fourth poem (see also parts one, two and three for the background).
How exasperating to lack fighters when there are men.
How frustrating to look in vain for volunteers…
Anti-Apartheid Protest Poems (part four)
The fourth in a series of six poems from the Xhosa poet Melikhaya Mbutuma, this was recorded five months after the third poem (see also parts one and two for the background and parts five and six for the rest).
The rulers amaze me in their understanding of man,
The genii have confounded me in their conception of the sanctity of man.
