A rite of passage for young Livali boys in northwestern Zambia, where they are expected to cross a river to remove their childish estate and come back as grown men
He resists the idea that the poems are his story in an authoritative way, instead wanting the reader to reflect on the poem in relation to their own life
chingonyi: '"I resist the idea that the poems are my story in any authoritative way. The act of creativity is to ask how I can move beyond that into sharing with someone a text or a poem that encourages them to reflect on certain things in their own life."'
chingonyi chose a "yellow suit and white shoes" to dress his mother's body, which may reflect his childish innocence or an attempt to remember her in life
chingonyi questions how his "alternate self" who never left Zambia would view his "literary pretensions" and use of the English language, suggesting he is not fully comfortable in his role as a poet
The poem's circular structure, starting and ending with reflections on the procession of men that came before chingonyi, shows his Zambian roots are still core to his being