Mazisi Kunene (b1930)

Congregation of the story-tellers

at a funeral of Soweto children

  1. We have entered the night to tell our tale,
  2. To listen to those who have not spoken.
  3. We, who have seen our children die in the morning,
  4. Deserve to be listened to.
  5. We have looked on blankly as they opened their wounds.
  6. Nothing really matters except the grief of our children.
  7. Their tears must be revered,
  8. Their inner silence speaks louder than the spoken word;
  9. And all being and all life shouts out in rage.
  10. We must not be rushed to our truths.
  11. Whatever we failed to say is stored secretly in our minds;
  12. And all those processions of embittered crowds
  13. Have seen us lead them a thousand times.
  14. We can hear the story over and over again,
  15. Our minds are numbed beyond the sadness,
  16. We have received the power to command;
  17. There is nothing more we can fear.
  1. We have entered the night to tell our tale,

The werefered to in this line are the parents. They have either literally entered the night, or they have entered the night figuratively because their children died. Now it is night for them. They want to tell what happened to them.

  1. To listen to those who have not spoken.

They also want to listen to those who have not said anything about their dead children. The funerals held during the Apartheid years were usually used as political rallies since politicians of the ANC were not allowed to hold public meetings. The ANC was an illegal organisation and it was banned. At the funeral of these children they may have listened already to a lot of politicians talking about how just the cause is that these children died for. The people who have not spoken yet may be the actual parents of the children who died.

  1. We, who have seen our children die in the morning,

This line tells you who have not spoken yet. The we refers to the parents of the children who died in the morning. To them it was horrible because they saw how their children died, it happened in front of their own eyes. Children is used here as a general term. If you were a parent and you saw a child die it was as if your own child died.

  1. Deserve to be listened to.

The parents feel they deserve to be listened to. They are after all the people who have lost the most.

  1. We have looked on blankly as they opened their wounds.

They looked on blankly (without expression ) as they opened their wounds. The they may be the children, the wounds they open may refer to the difficulties the children experienced because of Apartheid. The parents looked on as the children revealed these wounds. The wounds may also refer to the actual, literal wounds the children received when taking part in action against the government.

  1. Nothing really matters except the grief of our children.

To these parents nothing is more important than the hardship their children experienced. The children also cried about something.

  1. Their tears must be revered,

The tears the children cried must be respected.

  1. Their inner silence speaks louder than the spoken word;

The feelings that was inside all of them speaks louder that any spoken word. This is an example of antethisis or contrast or paradox. Silence cannot speak louder that something.

  1. And all being and all life shouts out in rage.

Everybody is angry about the inustice of Apartheid, is angry about the children that were killed.

  1. We must not be rushed to our truths.

But they, the parents, must not be rushed to how they feel.

  1. Whatever we failed to say is stored secretly in our minds;

Whatever the parents did not get a chance to say is stored in their minds. Only they know how they feel, it is a secret.

  1. And all those processions of embittered crowds

The parents now refer to all the marches that they participated in. The members of these crowds were embittered, unhappy, not satisfied with their way of life.

  1. Have seen us lead them a thousand times.

The parents say they ae part of the struggle. Many have seen them lead either the children or other marches a thousand times

  1. We can hear the story over and over again,

As parents they can here these stories over and over again. The story of how their children died, the story of the many marches they have participated in.

  1. Our minds are numbed beyond the sadness,

They have paid however the ultimate price. They have lost their children. Their minds cannot take anymore pain. Their minds have no feeling anymore.

  1. We have received the power to command;

Because they have experienced so much pain, they are now in command. They can now lead their people again, they can take part in more marches.

  1. There is nothing more we can fear.

The reason they feel that they can go on with the struggle is because they have nothing more to fear. They can lose nothing more. They have already lost that which was most important to them.