The vultures by David Diop

In those days
When civilisation 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 of 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
You who knew all the books but knew not love
Nor our hands which fertilise the womb of the earth
Hands instinct at the root with revolt
In spite of your songs of pride in the charnel-houses
In spite of the desolate villages of Africa torn apart Hope lived in us like a citadel
And from Swaziland’s mines to the sweltering sweat of Europe’s
factories
Spring will be reborn under our bright steps.

Commentary

This poem embodies some of the most powerful images of Africa’s colonial experience. European control of Africa, under the pretext of a civilising mission, is seen as closely allied to the work of the Christian missionaries in converting Africa to a religion which demands humility.

As is usual with Diop, it is the speaking voice which begins this poem: first narrating, rising gradually to a vehement denunciation and, finally, proclaiming hope and release to the oppressed. The structure of the poem depends on the changes in the tone of the voice we hear speaking to us. Generalised metaphors of violence are followed by more specific images of oppression, indicating a more intense involvement of the narrator, until narration yields place to a direct address. The images of condemnation are strong, so that the more positive images of hope held up at the end of the poem inevitably appear weak beside them.

Senanu, K. and Vincent, T. (1977). A selection of African Poetry. Fifth impression. Longman Group Limited.

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