And Now the Poets Speak compiled and edited by Mudereri Kadhani and Musaemura Zimunya
Mambo Press (1981)
ISBN: 0 86922 158 2

DURING the liberation struggle songs and poems were composed to keep the morale of the freedom fighters and their supporters high.
Some of the songs and poems detailed the aims of the struggle.
It was through art that some people learned about the core values of the struggle.
The book And Now the Poets Speak edited by Mudereri Kadhani and Musaemura Zimunya is a compilation of poems from various poets inspired by the struggle of Zimbabwe.
The poets include Samuel Chimsoro, Colleen Samupindi, Forbes Karimakwenda, Samuel Dave Seyaseya, Nemi Tichapedza and Jonathan Wutawunashe.
Through the poems the poets focus on the grievances of the locals that led them to take up arms.
Some of the poems were inspired by the talking points of the liberation struggle such as the Chimoio and Nyadzonia attacks.
Other poems were inspired by the attainment of independence.
In the poem The Labourer Chimsoro explores how blacks were made to labour in vain in mines and farms where they worked for the white man.
Remuneration was poor hence their dreams of improving their standards of living were not achieved.
Instead, the fruits of their labour were enjoyed by the white colonial masters.
Chimsoro “The labourer’s dreams will not tell
“The sour taste of grapes he sees,
“But the sweet taste of wine,
“Ageing in the landlady’s glass,” he writes.
Samupindi, in the poem We, also highlights the squalid conditions locals lived in during the colonial era while the whites enjoyed the best the country had to offer.
When the settlers came to Zimbabwe locals were driven from fertile lands and were forced to make new homes on infertile lands yet they had always eked a living out of agriculture.
In cities, high density suburbs were created where blacks were forced to live and the standards of living were poor.
“We, the children of Zimbabwe,
“Subjects of a nameless horrible,
“Dwellers of plastic palaces,
“Mansions that rumble with the wind,
“We, with shivers in every limb,
“With soft tears that fill our eyes
“And flood the hearts with sorrow,” writes Samupindi.
Poems inspired by the war include We by Karimakwenda.
The poet highlights the effects of the war on the psych of those that experienced and witnessed it.
He equates them to zombies who after witnessing some of the horrendous acts of the Rhodesian forces had to continue without giving much thought to what was happening.
One can just imagine the mental stature of the survivors or those called in after the Chimoio and Nyadzonia attacks where thousands were massacred.
One cannot help but feel pity for those who took part who are still haunted by the demons from the war.
Surely one can be forgiven for despising the whiteman who has caused unending suffering for the thousands who witnessed and took part in the war.
“We the people
“Moved in circles
“Dead like flies
“Explained riddles
“Wrapped in sorrow
“Mourned our dead
“Mass buried them
“Again and again and again,” writes Karimakwenda.
In the poem Musafare’s Prayer Chimsoro talks about how focused and committed locals were in fighting for an independent Zimbabwe.
The poet talks of how freedom fighters were not demoralised by the heat, cold weather, rain and drought.
In fact these impediments seemed to give the fighters the strength to carry on till the war was won.
“See their souls leak,
“Like witches in the night,
“In search of freedom,” Chimsoro writes.
During the liberation struggle the Rhodesian forces tried to weaken the struggle by arresting and torturing the leaders of the nationalist movements but they could not break the spirit of the fighters.
Instead the detention of their leaders.
In the poem inspired by the detention of the late Edison Sithole, Kadhani shows how the freedom fighters were prepared to face detention till their goal was achieved.
“So,
“If all the roads lead,
“To the same cell,
“Across the jungle,
“We may as well
“Strike our way,” writes Kadhani.
In the poem Nyadzonia, Tichapedza recreated the events of the fateful day of the Nyadzonia attack.
“Nyadzonia was filled with life and movement,
“Vibrating with songs, sounds and echoes of Chimurenga,” he writes.
Unsuspecting sons and daughters of the soil at the camp were bombed by the Rhodesian forces.
In the poem he asks the question which might have lingered on the minds of those called in to assist the survivors, “How much more blood is our motherland worth.”
The sight of the thousands of lifeless bodies that lay on the ground did not deter the comrades fighting the Smith regime, instead it made them more resilient.
The poem Mwari Komborerai Zimbabwe, which was inspired by independence, sees Charles Mungoshi congratulating the freedom fighters for liberating the country.
The poet urges Zimbabweans to safeguard the gains of independence as a way of showing gratitude to those who sacrificed their lives to free the country.
“Do not forget them who yearned so long for this song,
“Whose limbs now adorn open fields and furnish shallow graves,” he writes.
Just as Mungoshi writes, the onus is on Zimbabweans to keep the history of the struggle alive and ensure the country remains independent.