i
The physical journey that i traverse
is a journey of the soul,
transport of the self from a fatherland
to a country collected by sight and mind,
the knowledge that sweats from it
is a stranger’s knowledge,
from one who has learnt to see, think
and choose between
the changing realities.
ii
it’s true i have growled at my mother and grandmother
but only after having told of my predicament
that they have never brought to reason.
the wife that i began to love in my loneliness,
in the country that alienated me,
they took to their predecisions,
i have not entirely returned, i know,
having been changed by time and place,
coarsened by problems
estranged by absence.
Muhammad Haji Salleh
( a ) The words stranger’s knowledge in line 6 refers to [1 mark]
( b ) Which word in the poem tells us that angry words were uttered? [1 mark]
( c ) Where did the persona travel? [1 mark]
( d ) In your own words, explain the meaning of line 7 of the second stanza. [2 marks]
