Summary of key points ...
Structure:
Free verse reflecting the chaos of the refugee camp; lack of structure in lives of uprooted victims.
One long stanza - no stopping time as child's death approaches.
Tone:
Profound sorrow and pity. Woman has immense dignity.
Use of Language:
Religious imagery important. "Madonna and child" - comparison gives this death significance. The woman's depth of feeling is awe-inspiring.
Camp described in a mutli-sensory way. Odours are evoked and vivid visual images covey horror. Heavy alliterated 'b' sound adds to brutal directness of tone. "Blown-empty bellies" and "dried-up bottoms" - disturbing images are listed. Scale of human suffering is evident through listing effect.
Focus on individual is a reminder that starving refugee are real people with dignity and lives that matter. So focus returns to mother.
Image of bathing and washing again connotes the bible - washing away sins. "daily act" evokes Lord's prayer. Sense of woman's deep spirituality is created.
Bundle of (broken) possessions - alliterated 'b' again. Mother prepares son for death by carefully combing "skull". "humming in her eyes" suggests she is soothing the child.
"Tiny grave" is a devastating image to end the poem. Profound sense of loss and waste.
Message:
Poet asking us to acknowledge the humanity of victims. The mother is presented as almost saintly. Her life, her son's - they matter. Poem shakes us out of our indifference to human suffering.
Point of View:
A third person, past tense narrative. Refugee seen from the outside, as on TV images, but Acheba is asking us to focus on her dignity and love.
9 фев 2014
