As one of the assignments for this course, students were asked to do a piece of creative writing using the characteristics (whether formal or not) of one of the texts that we discussed during the semester. The assignment required that they follow the conventions and characteristics of the text (China, Japan, Puerto Rico, and ancient Mesopotamia) but used their own experiences in Botswana for the content. Here are some samples of their work.
Julia de Burgos was a Puerto Rican poet whose poem "To Julia de Burgos" examines the conflict between a free "inner woman" and the "outer" woman who is subject to social constraints. Students who chose to follow this style were allowed to shape the form of the poetic dialogue as they wished. Following are some excerpts from these poems.
Poetry, 2003 "Sellout You Are" by Rebaone Tswiio I am a heathen they say Only because I resist their vocation They condemn pagan. They curse savage Of what I believe in shall I not be condemned Because in there lies my trust my faith And condemnation shall not persevere. [...] You are the mirror of forged christianity; not I, who is proud and pompous of his traditional beliefs [...] You go to the expensive temple, to pray your Jehovah; not I, I make sacrifices at the mountain, rainfall confirms acceptance You are a captive, imprisoned, brainwashed Fooled by the wit of white missionaries; not I, I am a staunch conservatist Waiting to be convinced against my faith When time comes for you to go to your heaven Wearing your sheepskin and leaving behind your wolf hide Going to your saviour who lived in Africa, though white-skinned I shall remain here, waiting for my ancestors Great men of traditional African origin And with them shall we have our own heaven Shalom, Kagiso, Uxolo, Dothozo and peace shall eternally exist. "The In Thing" by Galani Thabano They think it is the in thing to have three men, one for financial purposes, one for sexual pleasure and one for security. Not I, just one man is enough for me to give me love and care. They think it is "the in thing" to have a "sugar daddy" to give them cash Not I, I have a real daddy, my father, to take care of my financial needs. They think it is "the in thing" to have a man with the three Cs, cash, cellphone and a car Not I, my man has none of the Cs but he provides me with love and care which is all I need. [...] They think I am stupid and backward or even uncivilized because I do not do "the in thing" Well I don't think so, I am not stupid I am intelligent, I am not backward I think about the future, I am down to earth because I do not yield to the pleasures of the world. "Oh! the Difference" by Tebogo Modise I am your poet not to the world But to you my sister Identical physically we are Deep inside we are different. Born on Sunday in the kingdom of freedom Sold on Monday into slavery You are in a prison Not I, I am free as a bird Everything is about him His names, parents are yours His relatives are yours What is his is yours Not I, what is mine is mine. He is your master and You are his servant You are a flying flag Not I, I am an anthill. You do what your Lord intends With smiles and laughs Long clothes are your motto Not I, I am my own master. You are like a pet Freedom you lack Obedience you must be Not I, freedom is my middle name Oh! what a contrast Deep inside we are different. Untitled by L. L. Tshephe They say we are the same but we are not, You are our culture's assailant, not I, I am her guardian, her protector You suffocate in the house, eyes stuck to the box not I, I sit by the fire telling tales proverbs and riddles ensuring continuity of my culture Our ancestors knew restaurants not Yet you go astray and [are] hard to retrieve, not I, I prepare the meals in that black antiquity the legacy, by the fire like they taught me. You are a braggart of their music, their food their clothes their language, though alien, not I, I am the staunchest in my culture Your 'culture' lacks self-examination, mine is self-explanatory, and I am. Heaven is my witness that I am not you the betrayer, no! I continue tilling the kind pride of self-sufficiency, I wear and stride in elegant animal skin I sing legends music of my people sustainability is my responsibility When the ignorant majority follow you destroying my Tswana pride I shall vigorously stand against you to allow my Tswana tradition and culture prevail! Poetry, 2004 "Envious of me, aren't you?" by Marang Motshwanaesi They think we are the same but we are not, they are really mistaken They confuse my identity to yours Between us lies a vast distinction They hail you "Our King, our honourable King" Through birthright you deserve it Not my electorates who chant "Viva, viva our president" You are the product of their culture Automatically you are the custodian of this culture Not I, I am a product of hard work threough intense politics I am at liberty to associate with any culture [...] You are the master and commander of your own people Immune to criticism and advice you shall remain Not the case with me, servant of the electorates And therefore subject to their views and opinions However, love and respect is what your people give you A true leader is what they see you as Not I, who have half my population not interested in politics 'Liars', 'cheats', 'selfish' are their daily names for politicians [...] Untitled By Galeboe Maria Kgafela I am a betrayer they say Only because I always stick to my principles [...] When the judgement day comes, I would like to see where they will be, For I will be the happiest person alive. Our roles will have changed. From then, they will be the real betrayers; not I, Because I will be the happiest person for I will no longer be a betrayer, but a heroine. "Sobriety and Drunkenness" By T. Joseph Both our worlds intermingle to differ Born our way in the middle to decipher You, a man of cleanness and sobriety Me, a man of bottle and drunkenness Indeed, the juxtaposition With a bottle of wine I stagger to my room To a battle of time you ponder over the future I sip into my glass and beam with content You peep through the window as I pass by Singing the songs of liberalism and redemption And I know you are my most keen admirer Still you know I hate you and your personality Why can't you escape from that lonely room And venture into the carousal Did they say you live a clean life? Life of sobriety and kindness Did they say I live a lousy life? Life of merriment and partying Indeed that's merriment Did they know that you loathe the devil's waters for a reason? Did they know that I love the devil's waters for a reason? Yes, honour to him, your long dead father Taken to the grave by the devil's water And honour to my lovely dad For bringing humour to the family After a bout of drinking Still a healthy lively man at the age of sixty
Webpage edited by Dr. M. S. Lederer, lecturer for ENG434.
Copyright for each work belongs to the author.© 2003-4