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Poetry: Random notes to my son
KEORAPETSE KGOSITSILE
The Poet
• Keorapetse William Kgositsile (19 September 1938 – 3 January 2018), also known by his pen
name Bra Willie, was a South African Tswana poet and political activist, An influential
member of the African National Congress in the 1960s and 1970s, he was inaugurated as
South Africa's National Poet Laureate in 2006.
• Kgositsile lived in exile in the United States from 1962 until 1975, the peak of his literary
career. He made an extensive study of African-American literature and culture, becoming
particularly interested in jazz.
• During the 1970s he was a central figure among African-American poets, encouraging interest
in Africa as well as the practice of poetry as a performance art; he was well known for his
readings in New York City jazz clubs.
• Kgositsile was one of the first to bridge the gap between African poetry and Black poetry in
the United States.
Introduction
• “Random notes to my son” is a wise and complex poem, an imaginative
exploration through which the speaker warns his imagined son that words are
powerful tools. However, if used carelessly, the words could readily distract
from any possible truth or meaning.
• The poem uses original and evocative figurative language to convey the power
of words, all arranged in free verse. The register seems conversational and has
a stream-of-consciousness quality; however, the message and the language are
carefully considered
Before we begin
THINK ABOUT THE POWER OF WORDS IN YOUR
EVERYDAY LIVES.
HOW DO WORDS INFLUENCE PEOPLE?
WHY IS THERE SUCH A THING AS CENSORSHIP?
The Poem: Random notes to Confusion
my son Keorapetse William Kgositsile
-
in me and around me
confusion. This pain was
not from the past. This pain was
not because we had failed
Beware, my son, words to understand:
that carry the loudnesses this land is mine
of blind desire also carry confusion and borrowed fears
the slime of illusion it was. We stood like shrubs
shrivelled on this piece of earth
the ground parched and cracked
dripping like pus from the slave's battered back through the cracks my cry:
e.g. they speak of black power whose eyes
will not threaten the quick whitening of their own intent And what shapes
what days will you inherit? in assent and ascent
what shadows inhabit your silences? must people the eye of newborn
determined desire know
I have aspired to expression, all these years, no frightened tear ever rolls on
elegant past the most eloquent word. But here now to the elegance of fire. I have
our tongue dries into maggots as we continue our slimy fallen with all the names I am
death and grin. Except today it is fashionable to scream but the newborn eye, old as
of pride and beauty as though it were not known that childbirth, must touch the day
'slaves and dead people have no beauty' that, speaking my language, will
say, today we move, we move ?
Vocabulary
random: without definite aim, conscious decision or direction; haphazard
illusion: false or unreal idea, perception or belief
battered: injured by repeated blows or punishment
aspired: hoped to achieve
eloquent: fluent or persuasive in speaking or writing
shrivelled: wrinkled and shrunken, especially as a result of loss of moisture or old age
assent: the expression of approval or agreement
ascent: an instance of rising or moving upward
Stanza 1
Line 1: Beware, my son, …
Mr Kgositsile is warning his son Thebe, a.k.a. Earl Sweatshirt. It’s unlikely that Earl will listen to the man that left his life
when he was six. Thebe was under a lot of pressure not only growing up without a father, but also living in his poetic shadow
as he mentions in “Burgundy”:
And when them expectations raise in me ‘cause daddy was a poet, right? Talk all you want, I’m taking no advice, nigga …
Line 1-4: …words/carry the loudnesses/of blind desire also carry/the slime of illusion
The poet is telling his son that his work/words should not be loud and without purpose. That will only give people an
unpleasant illusion; they are being distracted from the truth. His words do not give people direction. The ‘blind desire’ he
speaks of is the same as ambition/aspiration that has no direction/purpose. His son’s words are used to anger or incite a
response from people. Keorapetse is trying to tell Earl that words are very powerful tools; but, if used incorrectly, they only
serve as an illusion to distract people from the truth. He wants his son to realize that being famous gives him a platform to
speak and be heard. His son should use this platform purposefully.
Stanza 1
In plain terms he says, “words also carry illusion”, something imagined. He extends this statement by creating an
image of illusion as slime, a negative word. It gets worse when he compares illusion to pus dripping off the back
of a slave who has been beaten and whose wounds have become infected. All of this together creates a very
negative image of something rotting and diseased. He is describing words! This emphasises how carefully words
must be used.
It makes sense that Keorapetse is concerned as a father. The early work of Earl and his band, Odd Future, were
known for being dark, loud, obnoxious, and very offensive to many people. One of the few examples is the song
“Epar”, which is Rape backwards. This song is about a story of murder and rape and is as dark as most of Odd
Future’s other early work.
Note: It seems that Earl has paid attention to his father’s words and changed his style. While in Samoa, Earl
spent time at the Samoa Victim Support Group, a centre for victims, both children and adults, of sexual abuse.
Earl’s subject matter no longer involves rape, as is seen in his album ‘Doris’.
Stanza 2
Line 5: dripping like pus from the slave’s battered back
The image evokes a slave who has been beaten by his master and whose wounds are starting to
secrete pus. Kgositsile’s simile suggests that illusions are also beaten into us by our culture.
Line 6-7: e.g. they speak of black power whose eyes/will not threaten the quick whitening of
their own intent
Activists spoke of democracy without allowing anger or fear to stop them. This ‘black power’ was
their dark (secret/hidden) ambition for liberation without restraint.
Line 8-9: what days will you inherit?/what shadows inhabit your silences?
Keorapetse is asking his son Earl Sweatshirt what he wants to do with his life. Earl dropped out of
high school to become a rap artist and, although successful, Earl and his group Odd
Future received a lot of criticism for their violent lyrics in their songs. Keorapetse asks Earl to
confront his own demons and leave a lasting legacy. He wants his son to be known for something
good, instead of making violent lyrics.
Stanza 3
Line 10-11: I have aspired to expression, all these years,/elegant past the most eloquent word…
Keorapetse has been a poet for a very long time and has refined his craft to a point where his wordplay and linguistic skills are
heralded as legendary. This can also be seen in his son’s music, which makes use of conventions usually seen only in poetry.
Line 11-13: … But here now/our tongue dries into maggots as we continue our slimy death and grin…
We are losing our ability to speak (“tongue dries”), i.e. the ability to say anything meaningful. We don’t know how to express
ourselves, sharing messages and topics like those that Keorapetse has covered throughout his life.
Line 13-15: Except today it is fashionable to scream/of pride and beauty as though it were not known that/'slaves and dead
people have no beauty'
These lines suggest that in modern times, most people seem to talk more about superficial topics, such as their looks or their
money and jewellery, than about deeper human issues. This brings to mind the general pop mentality (refer to rap songs) that
black people were (and still are) slaves (in Africa and America) and, as such, neither beauty nor pride can be attained.
Stanza 4
Line 16-18: Confusion/in me and around me/confusion. …
Though this is not what Kgositsile is referencing here, his son went through his own share of
confusion with his father not being around. Earl delves deep into the issue in “Chum”:
“It’s probably been twelve years since my father left, left me fatherless
And I just used to say I hate him in dishonest jest
When honestly I miss this nigga, like when I was six
And every time I got the chance to say it I would swallow it.”
Kgositsile may rather refer to confusion that arises because of all the negative experiences people
have to face in life; they lack understanding, and this results in emotional turmoil. Perhaps
Kgositsile knows that Earl’s work (rap themes/words) is influenced by his confusion as to why his
father left him when he was still so young (6 years old), a vulnerable age. He carries emotional
scars because of what happened to him. When you look around, you become aware of all the
confused (broken) people around you.
Stanza 4
Line 18-24: … This pain was/not from the past. This pain was/not because we had failed/to understand:/this land is
mine/confusion and borrowed fears/it was...
The choices made to divorce his wife and leave his son are painful mistakes of the past. The pain, however, did not start there. The
pain started in his country of birth. The Apartheid laws stripped him of his identity, which lead to confusion. The fear that the
oppressed people had in South Africa was borrowed – it was not natural fear. Natural fear is what a person is born with. Borrowed
fear is what a person adopts from parents or other people/experiences.
Line 24-26: … We stood like shrubs/shrivelled on this piece of earth/the ground parched and cracked through the cracks my cry:
This is a powerful and expansive comparison. Its aspects are delicately cast across individual lines. Kgositsile casts himself and his
peers as shrubs, which manage to grow on dried out ground; the people are able to survive despite inhospitable conditions and are
even able to turn those conditions to their advantage: “through the cracks my cry”. Perhaps here is a message to his son. Despite the
conditions of growing up without his father, he has been able to survive and become successful. He needs to focus, however, on his
purpose/influence.
Stanza 5
Lines 27-32: And what shapes/in assent and ascent/must people the eye of
newborn/determined desire know/no frightened tear ever rolls on/to the elegance of fire…
What does the speaker cry (line 26) through the cracks in the parched ground? Different to a
‘blind desire’ (ambition without purpose), there is ‘determined desire’. This desire is
‘newborn’ when changes have been made. It doesn’t matter how people change their attitude
(assent) or rise above their challenges (ascent); however, it matters that they are determined to
speak words of purpose, influencing people not to live in the past or live in fear; people need
to move forward and fear should be controlled or destroyed. Fire destroys, but it also refines
(‘elegance of fire’). The speaker obviously refers to refinement when he says that “no
frightened tear ever rolls on to the elegance of fire I have fallen”. Fear should never be refined,
but controlled or destroyed. He speaks from experience. He was driven by his past and his
fears.
Stanza 5
Lines 32-37: … I have/fallen with all the names I am/but the newborn eye, old as/childbirth, must touch the
day/that, speaking my language, will/say, today we move, we move?
We are given many labels (‘names’) in life – each a perceived identity, which is not necessarily truth. The speaker is
aware of this. Many of the labels he has had to endure have caused him to stumble and fall. The ‘newborn eye’ is the
ability to change one’s perspective allowing one to see the truth and, hence, speak the truth; it is the ability to see
things from a new angle and then influence others to see the truth. This ability to change our perspective is
something natural to us, we are born with it. When we are able to rise (ascent) above our past and all the
perspectives that we have formed (assent) over the years that have burdened us and kept us in slavery, we will speak
the same language as the poet. This is a language of purpose. As an activist, his messages/words made a difference
to many people during turbulent times. He was active. The repetition of “we move” at the close of the poem imparts
a call to action, away from passivity. He is urging his son to use words wisely, to have “intent”, an aim in what he
says. He acknowledges the suffering of blacks everywhere, but is worried about how the youth are trying to achieve
change. He refers to a “newborn eye”, an eye that sees things differently, will speak “my language”, in other words,
wise words that have a meaning and purpose, and that cause a move forward to better things.
Literary Devices
Metaphor
Line 3: “blind desire” - ambition without purpose.
Line 4: “slime of illusion” – imagined things
Line 4-5 (extended metaphor) “slime of illusion dripping like pus” – the mind imagines negative things
and speaks negative words
Line 7: “whitening of their own intent” – incited anger
Line 9: “shadows” – fears; silences – thoughts/words not spoken
Line 29: “eye of newborn” – perspectives/attitude
Line 30: “determined desire” – ambition with purpose/intent
Simile
Line 5: “dripping like pus” – pus creates the image of infected wounds; years of slavery have “infected”
the minds/emotions of the people; the people are rotting because they are living in the past.
Alliteration
Literary Devices
Line 5: “battered back”
Line 9: “shadows inhabit silences”
Line 11: “elegant past the most eloquent”
Lines 24-25: “shrubs/shrivelled”
Line 26: “cracked through the cracks my cry”
Line 28: “assent and ascent”
Line 30: “determined desire”
Rhetoric
Lines 8-9: rhetorical questions to make the reader/the speaker’s
son think.
Personification
Line 31: “no frightened tear” – human attributes/emotions given
to tears
Repetition
Line 37: “we move, we move” – to emphasize progression.
Questions
1.Name two things against which the speaker warns his son. (2)
2.Quote two separate images of despair in the poem. (2)
3.Explain what “blind desire” is. (2)
4. Look at the simile of the shrubs on “parched” ground. This could be seen as
symbolof defeat or resilience. Which do you think it is? Explain with
closereference to the text. (2)
5. Discuss your response to one image in the poem that evokes the strangest reaction
from you. (2)
