Mazisi Kunene is a major figure in African poetry. He is the author of many books, the best known of which are his epic poems, Anthem of the Decades and Emperor Shaka the Great (both Heineman), which were written in Zulu and translated into English by the poet. He lives in Durban.

The Echoes Over the vast summer hills I shall commission the maternal sun To fetch you with her long tilted rays, The slow heave of the valleys Will once again roll the hymns of accompaniment Scattering the glitter of the Milky Way over the bare fields. You will meet me Underneath the shadow of the timeless earth Where I lie weaving the seasons. You will indulge in the sway dances of your kin To the time of symphonic flutes Ravishing the identity of waterlilies. I have opened the mountain gates So that the imposing rim Of the Ruwenzori shall steal your image. Even the bubbling lips of continents (To the shy palms of Libya) Shall awake the long forgotten age. The quivering waters of the Zambezi river Will bear on a silvery blanket your name Leading it to the echoing of the sea. Let me not love you alone Lest the essence of you being Lies heavy on my tongue When you country so many to praise The Political Prisoner I desired to talk And talk with words as numerous as sands, The other side of the wire, The other side of the fortress of stone. I found a widow traveling Passing the prisoners with firewood. It is this woman who forbade me to sleep Who filled me with dreams. The dream is always the same. It turns on an anchor Until it finds a place to rest: It builds its cobwebs from the hours. One day someone arrives and opens the gate. The sun explodes its fire Spreading its flames over the earth. Touching the spring of mankind. Behind us there are mountains Where the widow is abandoned. Until she remains there unable to give birth Priding herself only in the shadows of yesterdays. First Day After the War We heard the songs of a wedding party. We saw a soft light Coiling round the young blades of grass At first we hesitated, then we saw her footprints, Her face emerged, then her eyes of freedom! She woke us up with a smile saying, 'What day is this that comes so suddenly?' We said, 'It is the first day after the war.' Then without waiting we ran to the open space Ululating to the mountains and the pathways Calling people from all the circles of the earth. We shook up the old man demanding a festival. We asked for all the first fruits of the season We held hands with a stranger We shouted across the waterfalls People came from all lands It was the first day of peace. We saw our Ancestors traveling tall on the horizon. (Translated from Zulu by the poet)