Mtshali also notes a more fundamental aspect of apartheid: besides demeaning blacks, the laws also destroy families. In the poignant "Boy on a Swing" he conveys the bewilderment of a child whose father has been imprisoned: "Where did I come from? / When will I wear long trousers? / Why was my father jailed""
Mtshali is sensitive to individual suffering among blacks, and he knows that the exploitation of black workers by racial capitalism in the South African marketplace results in extreme hardship and the need for resilience. In "An Old Man in Church" Mtshali's voice is ironic and bitter, as he satirizes a society that propagates Christian humility as a religious and social doctrine while ensuring that blacks remain in humble and poverty-stricken surroundings. The old man is described as "a machine working at full throttle" during the week to make a profit for his master, and he goes to church on Sundays to "recharge his spiritual batteries":