Hello, everyone. The following presentation is on the poem ‘Talk to the Peach Tree’ by Sipho Sepamla. This is the fifth poem on the new list of poetry for English Home Language for 2023 and the next few years to come. This is a brief background to Sidney Sipho Sepamla. He was born in Krugersdorp – a mining city on the west rand of Gauteng in 1932. He studied to be a teacher and he also attended drama school in the UK during the 1970s. Sepamla is a renowned or well-known figure in South African Arts. He founded an organisation called the Federated Union of Black Artists. A number of his literary works were banned by the apartheid government. He was a key member of the Black Consciousness movement. Sepamla passed away in 2007. To summarise this poem, the speaker wittily makes a series of rather odd suggestions about with whom to discuss politics. These include the birds, shadows, pets, the peach tree and the air. The poem ends on a serious note in which the speaker states that the ‘devil himself’ should be addressed. The ‘devil himself’ refers to the leaders of the Apartheid government. Let us read through the poem: Let's talk to the swallows visiting us in summer / ask how it is in other countries / Let's talk to the afternoon shadow / ask how the day has been so far / Let's raise our pets to our level / ask them what they don't know of us / words have lost meaning / like all notations they've been misused / most people will admit / a whining woman can overstate her case / Talk to the paralysing heat in the air / inquire how long the mercilessness will last / Let's pick out items from the rubbish heap / ask how the stench is like down there / Let's talk to the peach tree / find out how it feels to be in the ground / Let's talk to the moon going down / ask if it isn't enough eyeing what's been going on / come on / let's talk to the devil himself / it's about time. Before we go into the analysis of the poem, I just want to mention a few aspects about the poem. In this poem, hyperbole is used. Remember, hyperbole is the deliberate use of exaggeration in order to make a point. Some of the statements made in the poem are quite absurd or ridiculous. Even though they create some humour, they, most importantly, also provide underlying political commentary. In these lines, the speaker ultimately wants to know – what do you know about us? Some of the aspects the speaker chooses to converse with with throughout the poem are temporary. These includes the swallows, afternoon shadows, the heat and the moon, suggesting conversation that is pointless or in vain. The conversation throughout also seems to be one-sided. The speaker reaches out to try and foster some understanding with the ‘others’, which are those in support of the apartheid regime. Lines 1-2 read: Let's talk to the swallows visiting us in summer / ask how it is in other countries. The fact that speaker says, 'Let's' or let us includes us as the reader in the conversation. The first entity to talk to is the 'swallows'. Swallows are birds that migrate to South Africa from the UK every year. We can interpret the swallow as a symbol of the arrival of the westerner in Africa, but only for a summer. In other words, total Western rule won't be here forever. When we talk to the swallow, we can ask how it is in other countries. Perhaps this conversation could be about a cultural exchange and a recognition of humanity. Line 3 states, 'Let's talk to the afternoon shadow'. This could perhaps be a reference to the beliefs that poets like Sepamla had during the apartheid era. They believed the African man had become a shadow of himself. In other words, a man not as strong and powerful as he once was. Line 4 states that we can 'ask how the day has been so far. We can interpret this as a satirical question, because how would a person oppressed by the apartheid government truly answer that question? Metaphorically, we could assume that it would not be a great day so far. Line 5 and 6 state, 'Let's raise our pets to our level / ask them what they don’t know of us'. We could say that the people who are oppressed are the 'pets' of the apartheid regime. For example, a dog owner can never fully know their dog, even though they might think they do. The apartheid government does not understand the people they have supposedly 'trained'. A pet can turn on its owner in an instant, just like the oppressed can and will rise up against the apartheid system. Take note of the use of the pronouns 'us', 'our', 'them' and 'they'. This creates an 'us versus them' situation. In other words, those oppressed or against apartheid versus the apartheid government itself. When you look at the poem on a page in its entirety, you will notice that lines 7-10 and lines 19-21 are indented. In other words, there is a space between the margin and where the text of these lines begin. We can interpret this indentation as an indication of a shift from the humorous, conversational tone to more serious political commentary. Line 7 states that words have lost meaning'. In other words, trying to converse and communicate is pointless. The power of language has been corrupted or debased by propaganda, bias and miscommunication at the hands of the apartheid government. Many writers in the apartheid era had a decision to make - would they speak the truth and risk being banned by the government? Line 8 states, 'like all notations they've been misused'. Notations refer to symbols that represent other elements. For example, the signs and symbols in Mathematics or in music. Just like this poem, many writers during the apartheid era wrote using symbols or metaphorical language. This was so that, when their works were considered only at a literal level, they would pass the government's censorship checks. This would eventually pose a problem, because to continuously have to write in symbolic or metaphorical ways could mean that language or meaning becomes 'lost' or 'misused'. The other interpretations of these lines would that the government has twisted or 'misused' langauge to convey lies and propaganda, and thus what they have to say cannot be trusted. Lines 9 to 10 read, 'most people will admit a whining woman can overstate her case'. The misuse of words and their loss of meaning is continued in the ideas of lines 9 and 10. The word 'whining' means to complain in a weak and ineffective way. A woman who whines is said here to 'overstate her case'. In other words, she would stating her case too strongly, almost exaggerating. We know as humans that if someone is consistently whining, we eventually stop taking that person and what he/she has to say seriously. So, if a purpose is exaggerated, it can lose its effectiveness and meaning. This idea ties in with the philosophy of many freedom fighters, including the poet, that using violence, which would be ‘overstating their case’, was not the way to end the apartheid regime. Violence would be reduced to ‘whining’ and thus the fight for freedom would lose its credibility and meaning You'll now notice that lines 11-18 are no longer indented and the poem shifts back to the conversational tone. Line 11 states, 'Talk to the paralysing heat in the air'. The paralysing heat can metaphorically refer to oppression, pain and suffering . Another interpretation of the 'heat' could be the anger, bitterness and the need for justice the oppressed people feel. In this line, we have a metaphor. The apartheid government is compared to the unbearable heat, which renders the oppressed people ‘paralysed’ – that is, without freedom and human rights. Line 12 states that one should 'inquire how long the mercilessness will last'. Mercilessness means cruelty or ruthlessness. Sepamla, the poet, was living and writing in Soweto during times of high political tension and turmoil. The word 'mercilessness' emphasises the effects of apartheid. The apartheid government has no compassion or mercy for the people it oppressed. It can be said that there is personification in these lines. The heat or the air is given the human quality of being the other person in the conversation. Since the air and the heat are intangible, it would be like talking to nothingness, suggesting that trying to communicate with the apartheid government is ineffective and pointless. Lines 13-14 read, 'Let's pick out items from the rubbish heap / ask how the stench is like down there'. Consider the words 'items', 'rubbish heap', 'stench' and 'down there'. These words relate to the way oppressed people are regarded by the apartheid government - as unwanted and unworthy objects to be thrown away or discarded. The idea that the 'stench' is 'down there' also suggests an idea of superiority and inferiority - suggesting the apartheid government is in a position of superiority over those oppressed. Lines 15 and 16 read, 'Let's talk to the peach tree / find out how it feels to be in the ground'. Consider the words 'peach tree' and 'in the ground'. A healthy peach is tree is solidly rooted in the ground, meaning it experiences stability and a sense of belonging to the soil in which it is in. It is thus able to thrive. In comparison, oppressed people in South Africa are unlike a healthy peach tree. They have no stability or opportunities to thrive. They have no land in which to call their own and have no sense of belonging in South Africa. The apartheid government have taken the possibility for this experience away. Line 17 reads, 'Let's talk to the moon going down'. We usually associate the sun coming up and the moon going down with a new day. However, since this is not the sun coming up, the going down of the moon can be interpreted as a mere repetition of this oppressive cycle. On the flip side of this, however, could it mean that the sun will rise to bring a new day of hope and freedom? In line 18, the speaker wants to ask the moon 'if it isn't enough eyeing what's been going on'. We have personification here. The moon is given the human quality of being able to see and observe what has been happening. In other words, the moon witnesses the darkness and the injustices of what has been happening in South Africa under the apartheid regime. It can be further said that the oppression is visible to the whole world, but nobody has done anything (at the time of the writing of this poem) to effectively change the situation in South Africa. The speaker wants to know when will it be enough before some serious action is taken against the apartheid government. Remember that like lines 7-10 of this poem, lines 19-21 are also indented to indicate an aside of political commentary on the situation. Line 19 states, 'come on' which is a call to action for those against the apartheid system. The speaker suggests in line 20, 'let's talk to the devil himself'. The devil here is a symbol for the apartheid government. The poem ends with the statement, 'it's about time'. In other words, the time has come to speak directly to the apartheid government. This conversation is long overdue and needs to happen to facilitate change in South Africa. This change would mean freedom, peace and equal rights for South Africans from all race groups, cultures, religions and genders. The 'talk to the devil himself' could be in relation to the negotiations between the ANC and the apartheid government and the release of Nelson Mandela from prison. Let us consider the tone and the themes of this poem. Remember that tone refers to the feelings of the speaker towards the particular subject matter at hand. The tone in this poem is: absurd, cynical, a tone of despair, frustration and a conversational tone; however, addressing serious political matters. The themes evident in this poem are life under the apartheid regime and the desire for change Regarding the form and structure of this poem, this poem is written in free verse as it has no particular rhythm or rhyme scheme. The poem consists of nine couplets or groups of two lines from lines 1-18. Lines 19-21 break this pattern. Stanzas 3,7,8 and 9 have the same pattern of word choice, length and content. The fourth, fifth and last stanzas are indented to separate the conversational tone of the rest of the poem and to indicate a political commentary. Thank you for watching this presentation on ‘Talk to the Peach Tree’ by Sipho Sepamla. Please be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and to give my Instagram and TikTok pages a follow @ english_is.love for more English content.