Name: Devine Amsterdam

Class: Grade 9 B
Teacher: Miss Rajkumar
 This poem, by David Rubadiri, is about a horrific thunderstorm,given by it’s name African
Thunderstorm.
The poem begins to give a description of the cloud to portray the image of the effects of the
winds on the clouds in the stanzas.
In line 1, He says the direction from which the clouds come, being from the west. In line 2-7
which states “clouds come hurrying in the wind turning sharply here and there like a plague of
locusts” is used to describe the speed and swiftness of the clouds using personification and
simile. He then moves on to inform us readers the clouds were moving so swiftly with the wind
that everywhere they were, everything was upbrupted while they seemed to chase after nothing.
In the second stanzas, He continues to describe the clouds, where their destination ends, that
being on the hill as stated in line 12 where the villagers lived and were greatly affected by the
storm. He described the clouds in the first line to be pregnant because of it’s huge humps that
made it seem bloated. He then states that “ pregnant clouds” were on its back.
In the final stanzas the poem talks about the effects on the villagers. In line 16-33, the poet
describes the atmosphere and the villagers trying to escape the horrid storm. It speaks about
mothers with their children on their backs in line 21 while the poet uses personification to inform
the readers that the wind tore their clothing exposing their dangling breasts and the screams of
children because they were being tossed and turned by the wind in lines 17-19. The poet uses
onomatopoeia to describe the wind whistles being heard as the wind passed the trees in lines
25 and 26. The poet uses personification in line 26 to give the imagery of the trees bending from
the pressure of the wind. In addition the rumbles and trembles of thunder are heard as well as
the bright and cracking of lightning that lead to smoking is seen in lines 30-32.
 The poet gives a description of the storm on its way to its destination, the hill, where the
villagers lived. Because of this, the villagers were all trying to escape from this horrific
thunderstorm.