MOTHO KE MOTHO KA BATHO BABANG
- Jeremy Cronin
(A Person is a Person Because of Other People)
By holding my mirror out of the window I see
Clear to the end of the passage.
There’s a person down there.
A prisoner polishing a doorhandle.
My face in the mirror,
I see the fingertips of his free hand
Bunch together, as if to make
An object the size of a badge
Which travels up to his forehead
The place of an imaginary cap.
(This means: A warder)
Two fingers are extended in a vee
And wiggle like two antennae.
(He’s being watched.)
A finger of his free hand makes a watch-hand’s arc
On the wrist of his polishing arm without
Disrupting the slow-slow rhythm of his work.
(Later. Maybe later we can speak.)
Hey! Wat maak jy daar?
- a voice from around the corner.
No. Just polishing baas.
He turns back to me, now watch
His free hand, the talkative one,
Slips quietly behind
- Strength brother, it says,
In my mirror,
A black fist
, MOTHO KE MOTHO KA BATHO BABANG
Questions and answers
1. Comment on the effectiveness of the poem’s title in the light of the
poem’s content and theme.
In prison one is dehumanized and can lose Faith. In the situation described
in this poem, the inmates, in all likelihood political prisoners, gain strength
from one another and support one another therefore. Humanity is
reaffirmed: the title encapsulates the poem’s message.
2. Comment on the style and form of the poem.
Style is original and unconventional
Uses colloquialisms and incorporates Afrikaans
Effective use of enjambment
Italics for emphasis
Uses brackets for translation of sign language
No clear stanza divisions – free verse
Much variation in syntax
3. What socio-political message is this poem what your answer with
relevant with reference to the text in
The message of strength in unity. Comrades. The symbol of black power to
come. Strength through adversity Anticipation of the power struggles and
role reversals.
4. Refer to lines 1-2. Why would the poet use a mirror this way?
The poet is in a prison cell and thus is cut off from other people. The
mirror allows him to see something of the world outside of his cell. The
mirror enables him to see further than he is otherwise able to.
5. Read Lines 3-4. Explain the change from ‘person’ in line 3 to ‘prisoner’ in
line 4
“Person” is a neutral word whereas ‘prisoner’ is very specific. The poet
recognises the man as a person before labelling him as a ‘prisoner’. If one
did not already know that Cronin is in prison one would need to be told
that this is a prisoner not a warder or outside worker.
- Jeremy Cronin
(A Person is a Person Because of Other People)
By holding my mirror out of the window I see
Clear to the end of the passage.
There’s a person down there.
A prisoner polishing a doorhandle.
My face in the mirror,
I see the fingertips of his free hand
Bunch together, as if to make
An object the size of a badge
Which travels up to his forehead
The place of an imaginary cap.
(This means: A warder)
Two fingers are extended in a vee
And wiggle like two antennae.
(He’s being watched.)
A finger of his free hand makes a watch-hand’s arc
On the wrist of his polishing arm without
Disrupting the slow-slow rhythm of his work.
(Later. Maybe later we can speak.)
Hey! Wat maak jy daar?
- a voice from around the corner.
No. Just polishing baas.
He turns back to me, now watch
His free hand, the talkative one,
Slips quietly behind
- Strength brother, it says,
In my mirror,
A black fist
, MOTHO KE MOTHO KA BATHO BABANG
Questions and answers
1. Comment on the effectiveness of the poem’s title in the light of the
poem’s content and theme.
In prison one is dehumanized and can lose Faith. In the situation described
in this poem, the inmates, in all likelihood political prisoners, gain strength
from one another and support one another therefore. Humanity is
reaffirmed: the title encapsulates the poem’s message.
2. Comment on the style and form of the poem.
Style is original and unconventional
Uses colloquialisms and incorporates Afrikaans
Effective use of enjambment
Italics for emphasis
Uses brackets for translation of sign language
No clear stanza divisions – free verse
Much variation in syntax
3. What socio-political message is this poem what your answer with
relevant with reference to the text in
The message of strength in unity. Comrades. The symbol of black power to
come. Strength through adversity Anticipation of the power struggles and
role reversals.
4. Refer to lines 1-2. Why would the poet use a mirror this way?
The poet is in a prison cell and thus is cut off from other people. The
mirror allows him to see something of the world outside of his cell. The
mirror enables him to see further than he is otherwise able to.
5. Read Lines 3-4. Explain the change from ‘person’ in line 3 to ‘prisoner’ in
line 4
“Person” is a neutral word whereas ‘prisoner’ is very specific. The poet
recognises the man as a person before labelling him as a ‘prisoner’. If one
did not already know that Cronin is in prison one would need to be told
that this is a prisoner not a warder or outside worker.
