GRADE 12 POETRY

2023
POEM OF RETURN- JOFRE ROCHA
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 for love
and the plaint of tumid sexes in star-studded night.
Bring me the long night of sleeplessness
with mothers mourning, their arms bereft of sons.

When I return from the land of exile 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.
VOCABULARY

• Line 1- “exile” (noun) the state of being barred from one's native country, typically for
political reasons or punishment.
• Line 5- “immense” (adjective) extremely large or great,
• Line 6- plaint” (adjective) easily bent, easily influenced or directed; yielding
• Line 6- “tumid” swollen, distended, tumescent
• Line 9 – “bereft” (adjective) deprived of or lacking (something), sad and lonely,
especially through someone's death or departure.
CONTEXT

• Angolan writer, poet and journalist, Jofre Rocha, is the literary pseudonym of Roberto
António Victor Francisco de Almeida, was born in February 1941.
• A Nationalist, fighting for the independence of Angola, Rocha is detained in Aljube
prison and returned to Luanda. His political activity saw him sentenced to eighteen
months in jail 1961-1968..
• A member of the MPLA, after the country's independence in 1975, he was called to hold
various positions both in the government and in his party. He has been President of the
Angolan Parliament since 1996.
Rocha speaks about the colonial
experience and focuses on the theme of
war and the social and economic
degradation that emerges from it…
ABOUT THE POEM

• The poem is written from the perspective of an exile, someone who has had to flee their
country of birth.
• The poem captures the sentiment of loss, lost opportunity and lost experience. The poet is
writing about the lost opportunities, mourning and sadness brought about by colonialism,
exile and war.
• The last quatrain, bubbles with anger; Rocha's parting shot: 'a thread of anger snaking
from their eyes.'
ANALYSIS
LINE 1-8
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 for love
and the plaint of tumid sexes in star-studded night.
Bring me the long night of sleeplessness
with mothers mourning, their arms bereft of sons.
ANALYSIS
LINE 9-14
When I return from the land of exile 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.
ESSAY QUESTION

“Jofre Rocha does not wish for a conventional celebration upon his return from exile.
He wants remembrance, not celebration. “
In an essay of 250-300 words, discuss the statement above, paying attention specifically to
diction, imagery and tone.
 DICTION
remembrance, His leaving was traumatic and sad. he was in
complete isolation “land of exile and silence”
not celebration He doesn’t want flowers “do not bring me
flowers”
Rather the remembrance of sadness “tears at
dawn”, longing for companionship “immense
hunger for love”; “mothers mourning”

IMAGERY
He shows the measurement of the need for
remembrance and sadness through superlative
images “all the dews”; “immense hunger”; “long
TONE:
night”.
His alternative “celebration” carries a shadow of
There are lost opportunities for those that left
anger at the missed chances and opportunities.
“wingless stone”. They were not able to cast their
The fallen sons were heroes in his eyes, and
stone/ make their mark because they were sent
need to be acknowledged.
away.
“thread of anger”, Rocha holds back his anger
The image of the mother with her arms empty
until the last line where is tone is suffused anger
“bereft of sons” is very poignant as it sums up why
at the injustice of oppression, colonisation and
Rocha wants remembrance when he returns. He is
exile.
able to return while others were not.