“An Abandoned Bundle” by Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali – Analysis & Summary
TITLE: AN ABANDONED BUNDLE
POET: OTHMAN MTSHALI
The morning mist
And chimney smoke
of White City Jabavu
flowed thick yellow
as pus oozing
from a gigantic sore.
It smothered our little houses
like fish caught in a net
Scavenging dogs
draped in red bandannas of blood
fought fiercely
for a squirming bundle.
I threw a brick
they bared fangs
flicked velvet tongue of scarlet
and scurried away
leaving a mutilated corpse
an infact dumped on a rubbish heap.
“Oh, baby in the manger
Sleep well
On human dung”
Its mother
had melted into the rays of the rising sun
her face glittering with innocence
her heart as pure as untrampled dew
Guide questions
1. What is this poem all about?
An Abandoned Bundle is a poem which is about moral erosion. It addresses on the way a certain woman throws her baby in a rubbish dump and dogs eat the child.
2. What kind is this poem?
An Abandoned Bundle is a free verse poem. It expresses on the way people in the society are very poor. So, poverty forces most of women to engage in prostitution where they get unwanted pregnancies; due poor life they throw their children because they are not able to take care of them.
3. Who speaks in the poem?
A poet is the one who speaks in the poem. The persona is angry to a mother, sad and sympathetic to a child because this practice is very common among people today.
4. What is the mood of the persona?
The mood of the persona in An Abandoned Bundle is angry, sad, serious and sympathetic
5. What are the possible themes portrayed in this poem?
-In An Abandoned Bundle there are themes portrayed like;
a). Environmental pollution b). Poverty c). Prostitution d). Injustice
e). Abandonment f). Racism
6. Examine the figures of speech used in this poem
a). Simile
b). Metaphor
c). Alliteration
d). Symbolism
7. Identify the lessons portrayed in this poem
a). Poverty leads to immorality and injustice in the society
b). Prostitution results to unwanted pregnancy and mass killing of children in the society
8. How far is this poem related to what happens in the society today?
An Abandoned Bundle is related to what happens in the society because it portrays on issues like Environmental pollution, Poverty, Prostitution, Injustice, Abandonment and Racism which are happening every day.
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