A Young Mans's Thought Before June 16th
A young man’s thoughts before June the 16th in English, Poetry by charles lin
SEPTEMBER 28, 2012
A young man’s thoughts before June 16th
Fhazel Johennesse tomorrow i travel on a road
that winds to the top of the hill
i take with me only the sweet
memories of my youth
my heart aches for my mother
for friday nights with friends
around a table with the broad belch of beer
i ask only for a sad song
sung by a woman with downturned eyes
and strummed by an old man with
a broken brow
o sing my sad song sing for me
for my sunset is drenched with red
Analysis
Background
In 1976, the students of Soweto lead the protest against the government’s plans to implement Bantu education. This marked the beginning of the Soweto uprising, many were shot or killed by the police during this demonstration against education in Afrikaans.
This pathos poem communicates the thoughts and feelings of one of the students in 1976, who would lose his life in the protest. This poem concentrates on the human aspects rather than political convictions.
Title
A young man’s thoughts before June 16th
“A young man” is a general reference to the protesters of June 16th, by being unspecific, this suggests that the casualties of the protests are of a high number and also the large group that participated in the protest on the 16th,.
“thoughts” suggests that the poem is reflective.
Body tomorrow i travel on a road that winds to the top of the hill
In lines 1 and 2 the speaker expects to encounter a difficult and unpredictable path ahead of him, it is a metaphor for life.
“i” suggests that the speaker feels that he is insignificant when compared with his comrades in the protest.
“winds” suggests the unforeseeable future. The path ahead of the young man is not straight-forward but rather twisted and difficult. It requires strength, effort, discipline and courage to reach “the top of the hill.”
i take with me only the sweet
memories of
SEPTEMBER 28, 2012
A young man’s thoughts before June 16th
Fhazel Johennesse tomorrow i travel on a road
that winds to the top of the hill
i take with me only the sweet
memories of my youth
my heart aches for my mother
for friday nights with friends
around a table with the broad belch of beer
i ask only for a sad song
sung by a woman with downturned eyes
and strummed by an old man with
a broken brow
o sing my sad song sing for me
for my sunset is drenched with red
Analysis
Background
In 1976, the students of Soweto lead the protest against the government’s plans to implement Bantu education. This marked the beginning of the Soweto uprising, many were shot or killed by the police during this demonstration against education in Afrikaans.
This pathos poem communicates the thoughts and feelings of one of the students in 1976, who would lose his life in the protest. This poem concentrates on the human aspects rather than political convictions.
Title
A young man’s thoughts before June 16th
“A young man” is a general reference to the protesters of June 16th, by being unspecific, this suggests that the casualties of the protests are of a high number and also the large group that participated in the protest on the 16th,.
“thoughts” suggests that the poem is reflective.
Body tomorrow i travel on a road that winds to the top of the hill
In lines 1 and 2 the speaker expects to encounter a difficult and unpredictable path ahead of him, it is a metaphor for life.
“i” suggests that the speaker feels that he is insignificant when compared with his comrades in the protest.
“winds” suggests the unforeseeable future. The path ahead of the young man is not straight-forward but rather twisted and difficult. It requires strength, effort, discipline and courage to reach “the top of the hill.”
i take with me only the sweet
memories of