Before the Next Song and other Poems Analysis

SONG OF THE SAVVANAH DOVE

The poem Song of the Savannah Dove is a mournful poem that shows aces the harms done on the environment by human beings. The poet lends the dove the gift of speech to articulate the deterioration perpetuated by humankind in its quest for food.  

The poet captures the life and death tension between humans and the environment. Humans are portrayed as relentless in their pursuance of victuals in the form of meat. However, hunting expeditions sometimes result in animals sustaining severe injuries and subsequently suffering a great deal. Alliteration on the words “hoary, heaving”  draws the attention of the reader to the painful experience the dove is going through. The poet argues that such gruesome activities are unnecessary because animals are part of us as humans. Feelings of sympathy and compassion are evoked by the use of the pronoun “others” in the last stanza. Portraying animals as human beings makes killing them seem to be a horrendous thing. This way, the poet foregrounds the notion of conserving nature.

Disruption of nature is associated with the unsustainable interaction between human beings and nature. “Piasi…confuses the seasons” by injuring the dove. Human activities are shown as having a bearing on climate change as the “dearth of rain” looms as a direct consequence of butchering animals. The name “Piasi” is aptly employed to portray human beings as devoid of pity. The word almost sounds as ‘pious’, yet the bearer of the name exhibits quite the opposite of what the name implies thus creating a paradox that ridicules humans for their irresponsible behaviour.

Human beings are characterised as being long in rhetoric but short in practice “like the acacia” that “scream in their dreams but only sigh when they wake”. This connotes that human beings are good at making theoretical commitments but they do not walk the talk when it comes to the preservation of nature. Here the poet is scorning governments who are keen on signing agreements and solidarity treaties on matters concerning environment yet the same governments fail to come up with policies and implementation modalities to prevent environmental degradation. Thus the poet labels such behaviour as nothing but dreaming, for when they are faced with reality, they just “sigh”.

The song of the savannah dove and its impending death shatters the prevailing peace and tranquility prevailing in the pastoral landscape. The poem opens on a celebratory tone. The bountiful and serene environment is brought out by the “leafy mopane trees”. Leafy trees symbolise abundance and richness of nature. A pleasant olfactory image emanating from the “scented savannah” and the “redolence” of various flowers creates a delightful atmosphere. The grass and the river are given human properties. Mupfure river gargles and rubs “her over-bathed stones”. The use of personification serves to evoke sympathy towards nature as well as to foster harmony between humans and nature.

The poem is Afrocentric in nature. This is brought out by the semantic field chosen. Words such as “musasa”, and “mopane” denote the indigenous trees found in Africa. The poet also incorporates African beliefs to emphasise this aspect. The “old ancestral bull” symbolises the African traditional belief. Thus in this poem, Chihota manages to voice his concerns on one of the pertinent contemporary issues through a unique mode