RETURN OF THE BIRD OF EXILE Poem by Mazisi Kunene

Our regiment haunched heavily on the pure sands of the sea
Watching without a murmur waves and spray on the banks
Inert and silent as the albatrosses gambolled on the dunes
United in spirit, in anxiety to strike the blow for freedom
Our sunset eyes espied a giant honey bird charting the route
Meandering along a silver line of those ominous clouds
An evident cue to resume our nocturnal march
Each man longing for the warm hearth of home
The silhoutte of the bird of liberty taking us South