TALK TO THE PEACH TREE
SIPHO SEPAMLA
▪ Sydney Sipho Sepamla spent most of his life in Soweto.
▪ Sepamla has been grouped with poets like Oswald Mtshali and
Wally Mongane Serote, the group is often referred to as the ‘poets of
the big cities’: the ‘Black’ cities of Soweto, Langa and Kwa Mashu.
▪ For a long time, the new city poetry was self-assertive, wrathful and
disconcerting. What has distinguished Sepamla from the other
poets, however, is that his work is not entirely focused on political
themes.
ABOUT THE ▪ However, in 1976 and 1977 Sepamla became a member of Medupe
Writers Association, and here some of his poems, though satirical,
POET had a political undertone. This collection was banned during
apartheid.
▪ He used surprising imagery that depicts the South African situation.
▪ Later in his life Sepamla moved from Soweto to Brakpan where he
died on 9 January 2007.
Talk to the Peach Tree - Sipho Sepamla
Let’s talk to the swallows visiting us in summer
Ask how it is in other countries
Let’s talk to the afternoon shadow
Ask how the day has been so far
Let’s raise our pets to our level 5
Ask them what they don’t know of us
words have lost meaning
like all notations they’ve been misused
most people will admit
a whinging woman can overstate her case 10
Talk to the paralysing heat in the air
Inquire how long the mercilessness will last
Let’s pick out items from the rubbish heap
Ask how the stench like down there
Lets talk to the peach tree 15
find out how it feels in the ground
Lets talk to the moon going down
ask if it isn’t enough eyeing what’s going on
Come on
Let’s talk to the devil himself 20
it’s about time
▪ Allegorical
▪ Talking allows for people to tell their stories.
▪ The unpacking of secrets and why things happened they
way they did.
▪ Bringing information into a space where there can be
ABOUT THE reconciliation and progression.
POEM ▪ Written during Apartheid – reflection on negotiations
between different political parties before end of Apartheid.
▪ Speaker reflects on challenges that need to be overcome in
order to bridge divide caused by Apartheid;
▪ Suggestion of an action. A means of coming to agreement,
conversing.
▪ “to” – conjunction
▪ “Peach Tree”- personification
TITLE
▪ A place for people to gather and talk about community
issues.
▪ The sharing of secrets, opinions and information
▪ LL 1-2: “swallows” are migratory birds. Comparing to tourists,
visitors/outsiders who can bring different ideas.
▪ Migratory “birds” can give insight into practices beyond
country’s borders; birds’ freedom vis-à-vis captivity of the
oppressed.
▪ The constant motif of discussions and talking.
▪ Ask questions + get answers = “talk”
▪ LL 3-4:“afternoon shadow”= apostrophe [speaking to objects
LINES 1-6 that cannot answer], darkeness, sad occurrences
▪ “how the day has been”= the end of the day/ state of affairs
▪ “Raise our pets to our level”= those who we care about/
children and youth
▪ “what they don’t know”= allow for truths to be told
▪ Allow for inclusion.
▪ ALL who want to know things and be engaged should be
allowed in this conversation.
▪ “words have lost their meaning”= people do not understand
the meanings of certain anymore. The connotative values of
words has changed.
▪ Their meanings are twisted to suit the intentions of the
communicator.
▪ The comparison to this miscommunication is the misuse of
LINES 7-10 symbols and “annotations” [short explanations, commentary]
▪ “most”=a qualitative number that can be understood but
unfounded.
▪ “a whinging woman” alliterative of droning and continuous,
but eventually ignored regardless
▪ Motif of communication that is not heard/understood.
▪ paralysing heat’ and ‘mercilessness’ – pain, physical abuse
and debilitating anger wrought by ruthless authorities.
▪ “pick out items from the rubbish heap/ ask how the stench
is like down there” – atrocities/secrets (on both sides) that
LINES 11-14 need to come to light/be acknowledged
▪ ‘stench’ – the result of rot. Vile, disgusting, sordid aftermath.
▪ “down there”= looking back, in hindsight.
▪ The ‘peach tree’ – rooted in the garden; provides shadow,
wisdom, guidance and support. Link between the ‘old’ and
the ‘new’ – rebirth.
▪ Deciduous – sheds leaves in winter but survives seasonal
changes to continue growing.
▪ Political landscape and people in the country ravaged by
apartheid will reinvent themselves and prosper.
LINES 15-18 ▪ ‘the moon … eyeing what’s going on’ = feminine qualities –
vigilant and caring but changing emotions and instability.
▪ ‘eyeing’ - atrocities are out in the open but the moon (and
the world) asked if standing by idly was enough/ made a
difference?
▪ “come on” = a gentle nudge in a particular direction/
unthreatening
▪ “let’s talk to the devil himself…’ = be brave/ engage with
the Apartheid government’s evil
LINES 18-20 ▪ “it’s about time” = emphatic statement suggesting events
are long overdue.
▪ S1 and S2: conversational, genial – invitation to engage in
conversation with those in ‘other countries’; ‘afternoon
shadow’ – reflect on events/experiences.
▪ S3: cynical/absurd/self-deprecating: ‘raise pets to our level’
–of human and animals thus highlighting a divide among
negotiators.
▪ S6 – S9: angry and bitter – oppression allowed to continue
TONE openly without much being done to stop it.
▪ S10: Quiet optimism and acceptance.
▪ ‘Come on’ – invitation to join discussions to address ‘devil
himself’.
▪ ‘It is about time’ – long overdue.
▪ Despite challenges/adversity there is always hope of
regeneration and prosperity AS LONG AS there is
THEME discussion and respect in speaking and listening on
both sides.
