He believes that the colonizers will give up one day, and the colonized will rise to gain independence and finally establish themselves as culturally conscious, confident citizens of a free nation. With a metaphor of a “young” tree, he expresses a belief that Africa will grow again and taste the glory of bittersweet freedom. Despite the presence of brutal realities, there is hope at the end of the poem, like a light the speaker sees at the end of a dark tunnel. The torture inflicted upon his ancestors by the colonizers is described through the haunting imagery of slavery. That is, specifically, what he tries to express in the poem through his poetic persona. The history of Africa flows through his blood even though he had been born in France and lived most of his life there, the land remained close to his identity and his being. Diop was born to French West African parents, and this poem contains that sense of bonding and emotion Diop had felt his entire life towards the African soil. He does so with a voice that is filled with longing and nostalgia. In this poem, Diop addresses Africa as a human being as he calls out to the nation’s past, present, and future. Similar Poems about Nationalism & Identity.from Hammer Blows and Other Writings (1973) Splendidly alone amidst white and faded flowers Impetuous child that tree, young and strong This back that never breaks under the weight of humiliationĪnd saying no to the whip under the midday sun Your beautiful black blood that irrigates the fields Read the full text of “Africa” below: AfricaĪfrica of proud warriors in ancestral savannahs.His emotions related to the freedom and independence of Africa are what he explores in this poem. He supported the African liberation movements and had empathy for all his fellow brothers and sisters fighting for freedom. His poems, like “Africa,” also known as “Africa my Africa,” are considered a piece of protest against the oppressive French colonial rule. Diop regularly contributed to the Négritude literary movement. The poem expresses a hope a hope for a post-colonial Africa that can spring beautifully like a flower after finally being freed from the heavy, corroded chains of oppression. “Africa,” a poem by French-African poet David Diop, paints a complete picture of Africa, including its pre-colonial glory and colonial suffering as the nation traversed a difficult journey through time and evolution.

At night all blood is black analysis