I walk through a path where silence is a better place to be.
A place where silence drags us closer, but language disperses us.
Regardless of one colour, we consequently fight against injustice, of not being heard.
Speed of light is much better off than the speed of rhythm and echoes we make in trying to converse, urg’d with the calls of nature.
The mysterious and myth of our past is much better than the rhythmic anguish of a fellow brother with an education.
Whose language should we use, mine or yours?
Remember oppression was a tool for differences,
The differences torn a child from their mother’s umbilical cords,
The cords couldn’t serve its purpose,
Purpose lost its feathers.
The heavenly steeps
knows of the steps of the heterogeneous world of patriarchy where the subaltern is silenced by bullets,
of those eating on a silver spoon.
Language is no longer bringing
us together.
Language, where are you?
A mother prefers a foreign language for their offspring,
Offspring have lost their identity controls,
Controlled by drug lords
And greedy groups.
Language, where are you?
Offspring see mother tongue as awful language,
Where did we go wrong?
I cry for mother language,
Mother tongue.
Poem Description
The poem delves into the inherent struggle between silence and language in postcolonial identity. It begins by arguing that, paradoxically, silence provides more unity and safety than language, which has been corrupted by colonial history and now divides rather than connects. Despite our shared humanity (“one colour”), the injustice of not being heard remains, as other languages’ forced rhythms fail to capture the souls of oppressed people. The contrast between ancestral myths and the pain of a modern, educated brother reveals a profound dissatisfaction with Western education’s so-called progress, which has alienated people from their cultural roots. This poem is a poignant reflection on cultural loss, linguistic identity, and the wounds of historical oppression.
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