Brutus, Dennis

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UCLAUfahamu: A Journal of African StudiesTitleIn Memoriam: Solomon MahlanguPermalinkhttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/9zx1w5kbJournalUfahamu: A Journal of African Studies, 10(3)ISSN0041-5715AuthorBrutus, DennisPublication Date1981DOI10.5070/F7103017274Copyright InformationCopyright 1981 by the author(s). All rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. Contact the author(s) for any necessary permissions. Learn more at https://escholarship.org/terms Peer reviewedeScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital LibraryUniversity of California•s, IN MEMORIAM: SOLOMON MAIILANGU Banged by the Apartheid Government, Pretoria Dawn, ApriZ 6, 1979 i. Singing ii. There was sunlit iii. One simply poses iv. The body buried secretly v . (Eschel Rhoodie 's father) vi. In the dimly lit vii. Blue spruce viii. en the road ix. All night x. Singing By Dennis Brutus 7 I. Singing he went to war and singing he went to his death II. There was sunlit Goch Street and the clear pale blue sunlight of the Highveld and the sunlit bustle of Edgar's store and the goodly things money might buy for the rich and white and the overalled workers delivery "boys" messenger "boys" sitting on curbs with nowhere to rest and the sharp crack of gunfire and screams of pain and barked ccmnands the thud of falling bodies Afterwards there was the long grey corridor the rattling salute on metal bars the stark shape of the gallows the defiant shouts of "Amandla" Singing he went to war and singing he went to his death 8 III. One simply poses one ' s life against another' s one's death against another's death : but the sides are different: ours is life joyous life a free life, for the free and theirs is the monstrous life of a monstrous thing who lives on the death of others on our deaths IV. The body buried secretly and friends excluded; thousands of mow:ners barred At the cemetery, in Mamelodi Mahlangu' s mother and thousands of friends wait The thousands waiting weeping, angry are told to disperse The police announce "The corpse you are waiting for will not be delivered. " In the center of Mamelodi the police swinging heavy rubber clubs disperse 200 students gathered to protest Mahlangu knew he might have to die: he gave his life for liberty 9 v. (Eschel Rhoodie 's father was a hangman the south African Secret Police prowl the u.s. campuses their aqents function as academics they hire mercenaries as their hitmen Mr. and Mrs. Snith lie bullet-riddled beside their family hearth--their ruthless desperation has no limit on criminality their's and their corporate bosses.) VI. In the dimly-lit mostly empty auditorium the curious nervous attentive crowd the careful welcomes focus mainly on me there are complaints of colleqe harassment the Dean of Spies is falsely cordial I pour scorn on stooge Mobutu challenge Uncle Tom Sullivan I evoke Mandela, Biko Sharpeville and Soweto 10 a shooting in Johannesburg stone-breaking on Robben Island Solomon ~lahlangu His gallant life his gallant death VII . Blue spruce White pine Yellow poplars a weak dawn seeps red over the Appalachian foothills here blaCks and slaves were brought as strikebreakers now the subdued miners can oppress minorities ahead red-raw· lumber scattered on the road an overtumed trailer wheels in the air like a docile beagle ' s paws a driver his head severed; a death in the dawn VIII. en the road to the airport I search the news till I find the dread item: He was hanged at dawn 11 IX. All night his name his face his body his fate the cell the gallows pressed on my awareness like a nail hammered in my brain Solomon Mahlangu till dawn till the time till the news the newspaper report he had been hanged then the nail was pulled from my brain and the drip of tears inside my skull began. X. Singing he went to war and singing he went to his death 12 

In Memoriam: Solomon Mahlangu

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