Congregation of the story-tellers at a funeral of Soweto children

We have entered the night to tell our tale, To listen to those who have not spoken.

We, who have seen our children die in the morning, Deserve to be listened to.

We have looked on blankly as they opened their wounds.

Nothing really matters except the grief of our children.

Their tears must be revered, Their inner silence speaks louder than the spoken word; And all being and all life shouts out in rage.

We must not be rushed to our truths.

Whatever we failed to say is stored secretly in our minds; And all those processions of embittered crowds Have seen us lead them a thousand times.

We can hear the story over and over again, Our minds are numbed beyond the sadness, We have received the power to command; There is nothing more we can fear.

We have entered the night to tell our tale, To listen to those who have not spoken. We: the parents They literally gather at night to tell the stories of their children’s death. They figuratively entered a difficult time with the death of their children. They are not just going to tell how their children died, they are also going to listen how the other parents’ children died. The government refused the people permission to have a mass funeral for the six children killed during the 16 June 1976 protest march where children protested against the school system and Apartheid. This may be a reason why the people gather at night.

We, who have seen our children die in the morning, Deserve to be listened to. The parents saw their children die in the morning. They were denied a mass group funeral but they deserve to tell their stories to others. The people of Soweto considered all the children of Soweto to be their children.

We have looked on blankly as they opened their wounds. We: the parents and other adults of Soweto Blankly: they looked on without expression as the children opened their wounds. Their wounds: the wounds of the children. “wounds” is used as a metaphor. It refers to the unhappiness of the children. The children protested against Apartheid and the school system which forced them to take all their subjects in Afrikaans. They were hurt by the government.

Nothing really matters except the grief of our children. Nothing is more important to these parents and adults than grief of their children. What made the children grief? The school system Apartheid Their fellow students that died in struggle.

Their tears must be revered, Their inner silence speaks louder than the spoken word; And all being and all life shouts out in rage. Although they are only children, you must respect (revere) their tears. The feelings inside all of them speak louder than any spoken word. Antithesis: inner silence speaks louder silence cannot speak. Everybody that exists and has life is angry about what happened. They all have a rage and anger in them. They experience an extreme anger against the government at its actions.

We must not be rushed to our truths. The parents must not be hastened to tell their stories. Truths: how they really feel and the truth about what happened to them.

Whatever we failed to say is stored secretly in our minds; And all those processions of embittered crowds Have seen us lead them a thousand times. Whatever the parents and adults did not get a chance to say, is stored in their minds. You can do anything to the people but you cannot take away what is in their minds, it is the safest place to store information. The parents now say that many people have seen them lead processions thousands of times. The crowds partaking in the processions were all bitter and unhappy. The parents say they are part of the struggle, they have taken part in processions many time.

We can hear the story over and over again, Our minds are numbed beyond the sadness, We have received the power to command; There is nothing more we can fear. They can hear the story of the deaths over and over again. Now that their children are killed, they have no more feelings. They cannot even feel sad anymore. Now that they have already lost their children, they are not afraid anymore. If you don’t fear for the lives of you family, you have the power to command, the power to be in charge. Nothing precious can be taken away from them.