A Strange Wind Poem Analysis

Timothy Wangusa, a Ugandan professor, has written a fifteen line poem – ‘A Strange Wind’. In this poem, he addresses the growing rivalry between the developing and developed nations in the world and portrays the differences between the two. Professor Wangusa is looking at the world after the process of globalization from a developing country’s point of view. This makes sense as Professor Timothy Wangusa is a citizen of a developing country – Uganda. Professor Wangusa is clearly comparing the developing and developed nations from the developing nation’s point of view. This can be seen in his first line: ‘A strange wind is blowing, dust fills our eyes’

The strange wind that is being talked about is the turmoil that is being caused due to the inequality of power between the developed and developing countries. The dust symbolizes the lag in national development. We usually expect the developed countries to have tarmac roads that are clean all the time. The fact that there is dust, shows that the place the persona is in is under-developed. Further proof of the persona being in a developing country can be obtained from line four of the poem: ‘…to expanded horizons, to a new day…’

This shows that the people of the nation that the persona is in are still expecting change and further advancements in their nation. In line six, professor Wangusa writes:
‘Our trusted gods and ghosts vanish’
This line carries two meanings. It can mean that the times that the developing nation is going through is so tough that their gods have left their side and are no longer helping them. This shows the gravity of the situation. It shows that even the gods and ghost that they used to trust to help them during times of turmoil cannot help them in this situation. An alternate meaning of that sentence can be the obliteration of culture in the nation. In African culture, gods and spirits are usually worshipped and their disappearance is being caused by the revolution that is coming about due to globalization and the fading of cultural diversity as a consequence. The changes that professor Wangusa talks about are mainly technological. This can be seen when we look at line seven: ‘These embodied voices announce the world news.’

The embodied voices are the voices of the news reporters coming from the radio. The ‘embodied voices’ symbolize technology. The extent of technology involved can be seen in the next line: ‘We see the hidden side of the moon’

From earth, the only side of the moon that can be seen is the part that is illuminated by the light of the sun. But the introduction of technology has enabled man kind to ‘see’ the hidden side of the moon which would have otherwise been impossible to do from earth. In line eleven, professor Wangusa juxtaposes two different events that take place in the different nations to display the stark contrast that exists between the natures of the activities that are carried out in the different countries: ‘The atom splits and the nightingale croaks;’

In the developed countries, the atom is being split and new discoveries are being made each second. This activity is compared to the croaking of the nightingale in the developing countries. Through this juxtaposition, we see the great divide in the level of activity in each of the nations. In line fourteen, professor Wangusa shows the effects of the change that the world is going through: ‘Futile raids cease and global wars commence’

Raids that used to be carried out and be unsuccessful are now no longer there. Instead wars between nations have started. Professor Timothy Wangusa is quite concerned about his nation. He thinks that his own people are contributing to the injustice: ‘Law protects wizards, forbids justice’

Towards the end of the poem, he becomes a bit aggressive. His aggressiveness can be seen in the words he uses: ‘The small nation shouts…’
As he is part of the small nation, he is the one shouting. His aggressiveness is further show in the last line by the use of an exclamation mark: ‘… a sword!’
By using simplistic diction, Professor Timothy Wangusa succeeded in passing his message across effectively and clearly without distorting its meaning. The phrases he uses mean exactly what he is trying to communicate so the reader does not have to struggle to figure out what he was trying to say.