When “Island man heaves himself” out of bed, a huge emphasis is naturally put on the word heaves. This is just our natural instinct to emphasise the badness, but the use of alliteration also contributes a certain amount of emphasis. The alliteration reinforces his effort and contrasts to the image of a dreamy, untouched island. Within this poem the use of colours is also important. Whilst describing the Caribbean, Grace Nichols has used bright, vibrant colours like in “blue surf” making it seem a generally better place to live compared to “grey metallic soar” of the “dull North Circular roar”.
The layout of the poem is very clear, also reflecting the differences between the two places. The first stanza is about the island and lines such as “fishermen pushing out to sea” gives a positive impression as the fishermen are hopeful of a good catch. This positive image makes me envisage a flat calm day with dolphins springing out of the water and an atmosphere of tranquillity and relaxation.
This poem Blessing is about water, or rather the lack of it. It is situated in a hot country, where the supply of water is inadequate. The poet sees water as a gift from a god “The voice of a kindly god”. This is one of the connections to religion along with congregation and blessing. When a pipe bursts, the flood which follows is like a miracle, but the "blessing"
is ambiguous - it is such accidents which at other times cause the
supply to be so little.
The opening lines of the poem “The skin cracks like a pod” compare human skin to a seedpod, drying
out till it cracks. Why? Because there is "never enough water". Ms.
Dharker asks the reader to imagine it dripping slowly into a cup. When
the "municipal pipe" (the main pipe supplying a town) bursts, it is
seen as unexpected good luck (a "sudden rush of fortune"), and
everyone rushes to help themselves. But the end of the poem reminds us
of the sun, which causes skin to crack "like a pod" - today's blessing
is tomorrow's drought. The poet celebrates the joyous sense with which
the people, especially the children, come to life when there is, for
once, more than "enough water".
The poem has a single central metaphor - the giving of water as a
"blessing" from a "kindly god". The religious metaphor is repeated, as
the bursting of the pipe becomes a "rush of fortune", and the people
who come to claim the water are described as a "congregation" (people
gathering for worship).
The water is a source of other metaphors - fortune is seen as a "rush"
(like water rushing out of the burst pipe), and the sound of the flow
is matched by that of the people who seek it - their tongues are a
"roar", like the gushing water. Most tellingly of all, water is
likened to "silver" which "crashes to the ground". In India (where Ms.
Dharker lives), in Pakistan (from where she comes) and in other Asian
countries, it is common for wealthy people to throw silver coins to
the ground, for the poor to pick up. The water from the burst pipe is
like this - a short-lived "blessing for a few". But there is no
regular supply of "silver". And finally, the light from the sun is
seen as "liquid" - yet the sun aggravates the problems of drought.
The poem is written in unrhymed lines, mostly brief, some of which run
on, while others are end-stopped, creating an effect of natural
speech. The poet writes lists for the people ("man woman/child") and
the vessels they bring (". ..with pots/brass, copper,
aluminium,/plastic buckets"). The poem appeals to the reader's senses,
with references to the dripping noise of water (as if the hearer is
waiting for there to be enough to drink) and the flashing sunlight.
We have a clear sense of the writer's world - in her culture water is
valued, as life depends upon the supply: in the west, we take it for
granted. This is a culture in which belief in "a kindly god" is seen
as natural, but the poet does not express this in terms of any
established religion (note the lower-case "g" on "god"). She suggests
a vague and general religious belief, or superstition. The poem ends
with a picture of children - "naked" and "screaming". The sense of
their beauty ("highlights polished to perfection") is balanced by the
idea of their fragility, as the "blessing sings/over their small
bones".
