“Presents from My Aunt in Pakistan” is about a girl who was born in Pakistan. She came to England when she was young. When she gets older she received gifts from her aunts in Pakistan. She gets various traditional Pakistani clothes. Whenever she thought about her nationality she did not feel whole.
The poem was written to show how the girl felt when her friends saw her clothes. The poem is written in free verse: the phrases are arranged loosely across the page. It is divided into stanzas of varying length.
This poem has many small details which are spotted by the reader. These details give an insight to their lives as children, whether the memories are good or bad, it is these memories that make them who they are.
“Small tin boats”
The main difference the poet uses is the comparison of eastern and western life. The main thing that the poet used is clothing. The monologue spoken by the girl shows how she respects her eastern culture, yet longs for western lifestyles.
The main reason she would not like to wear her eastern clothes seems to be that is it impractical. In Pakistan, the more intricate and detailed the clothes, the more fashionable; however that is not always the case in all western places.
As both of these poems are written as monologues, they both use enjambment, this gives a sense of speed or urgency. It also personalises the poem as if someone was speaking it. “Search for my tongue” is written in 3 stanzas the second of which is written in Gujarati.
મને હુતું કે આબ્બી જીભ આબ્બી ભાષા (munay hutoo kay aakhee jeebh aakhee bhasha)
મેં થૂંકી નાબી છે (may thoonky nakhi chay)
પરંતુ રાત્રે સ્વપ્નાંમાં મારી ભાષા પાછી આવે છે (parantoo rattray svupnama mari bhasha pachi aavay chay)
ફુલની જેમ મારી ભાષા મારી જીભ (foolnee jaim mari bhasha mari jeebh)
મોઢામાં બીલે છે (modhama kheelay chay)
ફુલની જેમ મારી ભાષા મારી જીભ (fullnee jaim mari bhasha mari jeebh)
મોઢામાં પાકે છે (modhama pakay chay)
Translated she says that she thought that her whole tongue was her whole language, that makes her herself. But her language had come back in her dreams. She also says that like a flower, her tongue grows back to her. And that her tongue has grown back.
