Naturally by Austin Bukenya

Read the poem below and attempt the practice questions given at the bottom.

I fear the workers: they writhe in bristling grass
And wormy mud: out with dawn, back with dusk;
Depart with seed, and return with fat-bursting fruit
And I eat the fruit.

And still the toil: at boiling point,
In head-splitting noise and threatening saws:
They suck their energy from slimy cassava.
And age-rusty water taps: till they make a Benz.

And I ride in the Benz; festooned with
Striped rags and python copper coiling monsters.
While the workers clap their blistered hands,
And I overrun their kids.

They build their hives; often out
Of the broken bones of fallen mates:
And I drone in them – ‘state-house’
Them, ‘collegize them, officialize them.

And I … I whore their daughters
Raised in the litter-rotting hovels
And desiring a quickquick highhigh lifelife
To break the bond.

And I tell the workers to unite:
Knowing well they can’t see, hear or understand:
What with sweat and grime sealing their ears.
And eyes already blasted with welding sparks.
And me speaking a colourless tongue.

But one day a rainstorm shall flood
The litter-rotten hovels and
Wash the workers’ ears and eyes clean
Refresh the tattered muscles for a long-delayed
Blow.

Practice Questions and Answers

(a) Who is the speaker in the poem? Give a reason for your answer.
The speaker of the poem is a person in authority, for the workers clap their blistered hands for him OR an employer because he says that the workers toil and he eats the fruits.

(b) Briefly explain what the poem is about.
The poem is about a rich/influential person who benefits from the efforts of his workers but he does not care about them.

(c) Why do you think there are three dots after “I” in the line “And I … I whore their daughters”?
He hesitates because he is embarrassed to say what he does to the worker’s daughters.

(d) What to you understand by the phrase, “a colourless tongue?”
The phrase ‘a colourless tongue’ means that he says things which he does not mean / he is not truthful – “and I tell the workers to unite ….”

(e) Identify three hyphenated words in the poem and comment on the significance of each in understanding the poem.
 Fat-bursting : the workers work hard because the produce is good
 Head-splitting : shows that the working conditions are very bad, very stressing or harsh
 Age-rusty : captures the poor worker’s facilities

(f) Explain the poet’s attitude to the situation in the poem
 The poet is critical of what the persona does for he vividly presents the suffering of the workers.
 He captures the speaker’s don’t care attitude about the workers or their children.
 He is calling upon the reader to condemn the action of the person in the poem.

(g) “And desiring a quickquick highhigh lifelife”. Why do you think the poet used the words this way?
The poet uses these words this ways to illustrate the desperation of the daughters and the length to which they will go to try and escape from their suffering.

(h) There is a mood shift in the poem, explain?
 Despair / Disillusionment in the first five stanzas because the workers seem to be helpless.
 Optimistic / hopeful / expectant mood is exhibited in the last stanza as the persona forsees a day when the workers will realize their rights and fight.