Read the poem and answer the question
At dawn must I rise to till the rock
That our land has turned into
The land where on we'd gleefully harvested paddy
Planted and nurtured and tended on plots marshy
Our woes are bloody woes of accursed revenges
Of the land spirits aggrieved and by his fellow
Kindred blood has counted for less than no value
Brother's wife has been wife to other brother's brother
Communal loot has emptied our country silos
The earth has stooped breathing and sighed
Soldered tears has the moon shed
The earth was scorched at noon-day night
And our land has turned to hoeing rock.
The theme of the poem is
The poem describes a land that was once fertile but has now become barren and hostile. This change is not presented as a natural accident, but as a punishment resulting from serious moral and social offences. “Accursed revenges / Of the land spirits aggrieved” suggests spiritual punishment for wrongdoing. “Kindred blood has counted for less than no value” indicates violence, betrayal or murder among relatives, which is an abomination in many African societies. “Brother's wife has been wife to other brother's brother” points to incest or forbidden relationships. The land becoming “hoeing rock” symbolises retribution: the land itself reacting against human wrongdoing.
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