Poem of return

(Jofre Rocha)
When I return from the land of exile and silence,
do not bring me flowers.

Bring me rather all the dews,

tears of dawns which witnessed dramas.
Bring me the immense hunger of love
and the plaint of tumid sexes in star-studded night.
Bring me the long night of sleeplessness
with mother mourning, their arms bereft of son.
When I return from the land of exhile and silence
no, do not bring me flowers…

Bring me only, just this

the last wish of heroes fallen at day-break
with a wingless stone in hand
and a thread of anger snaking from their eyes. 2
Historical context

• This poem is a protest poem.

• The speaker mentions his return from
exile and the anguish associated with
those who died whilst oppressed.

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What the poem is about

• The speaker is contemplating his

upcoming return to his country.
• He describes his “host country” as
“land of exile and silence” – this
suggests that he was not happy there.
He lists the things he missed while he
was away.
• He feels guilty about “escaping” whilst
his countrymen suffered.
• He makes it clear that he is not a hero
and should not be treated as one.
• Real heroes are the ones who stayed
and fought against oppression.
“
Title

The speaker in the poem is

returning to his country. At this
stage the reader does not know
whether it is a voluntary or forceful
return.

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Structure

• 14 lines
• NOT A SONNNET > Does not conform to the strict
Italian sonnet rules.
• Stanza 2 > tone of yearning, grief and loss
• Stanza 3 > tone of anger and bitterness
• No rhymes scheme > free verse > more typical of
contemporary poetry.
• Not written in iambic pentameter

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 1)When I return from the land of exile and silence,
2)do not bring me flowers.
• “When” not “If” > he is definitely going to return one day.
• When I return = anaphora > Emphasises the context of an individual
who had to flee his home country.It is clear that the speaker feels
guilty about fleeing his country while other people stayed behind to
fight the system.
• land of exile > the land to where he fled
• Silence > he was isolated / lack of communication > perhaps he did
not speak the new country’s language > not happy there.
• do not bring me flowers > imperative mood = command > he does
not see himself as a hero deserving flowers. Flowers are
superficial. Flowers are generally celebratory, and he feels that this
is definitely not a time of celebration > He fled and left the others to
fight. Maybe he feels guilty? 7
 3)Bring me rather all the dews,
4)tears of dawn which witnessed dramas.

• Bring me > Anaphora(repetition) + imperative

mood(command)
• Tears of dawn…witnessed dramas(violence) =
personification > even Nature was upset by the
suffering of the people.
• D-alliteration > emphasises the fact that Nature, too,
was horrified and sad at the oppression of her people.
• Tone of longing and yearning – the grief is immense. He
cries out for his homeland to meet him with “real”
emotions, not flowers, nothing superficial. 8
5)Bring me the immense hunger for love
6)and the plaint of tumid sexes in start-studded night.

• Bring me > Anaphora(repetition) +

imperative mood(command)
• Immense = huge
• hunger for love > human connection
• Plaint = plea
• Tumid = large / swollen
• Tumid sexes in start-studded night >
romance / intimacy 9
 7)Bring me the long night of sleeplessness
8)with mothers mourning, their arms bereft of sons.

• Bring me > Anaphora(repetition) + imperative

mood(command)
• night of sleeplessness > worry > can’t sleep
• bereft = deprived of > Many young men (the sons)
were imprisoned or killed. Some young men also
went into exile > thus mothers were denied the
presence of sons.

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 9)When I return from the land of exile and silence
10)no, do not bring me flowers…

• When I return > repetition > emphasises > that he is

not a hero.
• land of exile and silence > was not a pleasant
experience for him.
• no, do not > redundancy > indicates that he is very
forceful
• …do not bring me flowers > because I am not a
hero.
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 11)Bring me only, just this
12)the last wish of heroes fallen at day-break
13)with a wingless stone in hand
14)and a thread of anger snaking from their eyes.
• Bring me > imperative mood + repetition > he is very adamant.
• Only, just this > redundancy > again shows that he is very adamant
• day-break = figurative interpretations= The brink of change >the new
day symbolises hope that things will change…BUT…These heroes
could not see the change because they died at the brink of change.
• Wingless stone > they never got the chance to throw the stones
• and a thread of anger snaking from their eyes > tone is shifting >
anger and bitterness> he wants justice
• snaking >connotation of something dangerous and poisonous >
contributes to the ominous tone. He demands justice for all the
oppressed people. 12
 Theme
The poet captures the sentiment of
loss, lost opportunity and lost
experience.

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