The sun is compared to a gong that calls people together. This is a metaphor. The gong is announcing that it is the time of day to be engaged in physical labour. The people and animals both respond to the call and ‘Morning is busy’ and filled with activity. The image also conveys the extreme heat as it ‘beats’ down and people start sweating profusely.
In stanza one there is a sense of harmony and togetherness among people and animals. They are all ‘bearing loads’ and are all involved in morning activities, side by side. In line 7 there is a foreboding note that contrasts with the previous lines: there is ‘ominous news’ from the north. This introduces an unease into the poem and suggests that man’s inhabitation in Africa cannot be positive or worthwhile.
The poet is conveying how harmony in Africa is associated with reverence and spiritual goodness. The animals’ actions are dignified and suggest humility and veneration (worship and respect). The poet’s intention is to convey his admiration and awe at nature and the order and harmony of natural activities.
The message of the poem is that man creates disorder in Africa as he intrudes and invades the continent. Creatures exist in harmony and in sync with natural cycles. While man is incapacitated by the heat and the noise at midday, the doves bubble ‘their coolest colloquies’. The doves are conveyed as having ‘neat silk heads’ as they ‘liquidly’ announce their formula for harmony and interactive living. The doves are naturally shaded by leaves in trees while man has to escape nature’s extremes.