Clarke has said that for her a poem begins by "two sides coming together." Show how this is true of "Catrin" and one other poem.

        The imagery in the two poems also show Clarke’s idea is true. In “Catrin” Clarke says the mother and child “fought.” This suggests the pain of childbirth but how after all that pain love is created. This is also true of “A difficult Birth.”  “We strained together, harder than we dared. I feel a crack in the limbs.” Again this quote shows the pain of the Ewe giving birth and the struggle the vets had trying to help. However soon after the Ewe and lamb are safe and there’s another loving relationship between a mother and her child. After the birth in “Catrin” there is still a struggle happening. The baby became completely dependent of the mother after the birth but as the child grows up, it becomes more and more independent leading to a conflict as the mother is still wanting her child to depend on her. “You ask may you skate in the dark, for one more hour.” This quote shows the child wanting to be more independent and the mother having to accept that her child is growing up. Again this idea is also true in “A difficult Birth.” Ireland have constantly fought for independence whereas Britain has always fought to keep Ireland dependent on them. “While they slog it out in Belfast, eight decades,”  this quote shows how the battle for independence has gone on for a long time and still hasn’t been resolved, much like the battle between mother and child.

        The diction in “Catrin” helps convey Clarke’s ideas. For example, Clarke says her and her daughter both fought over the “red rope of love.” This metaphor tells us that both mother and child came into the world fighting to be separate yet as the child grows up the mother wants her child to stay close to her. It is an on going fight between the two as there needs to be a balance of dependence and independence. “A Difficult Birth” also uses metaphors to convey the same idea of dependence and independence.  The Ewe is also giving birth to lambs and the idea is true of this poem as well. While the Ewe is desperate to be separate from her lambs she also wants the lambs to depend on her once they are born.

        I think the poem “Catrin” conveys two sides coming together best. The main reason I think this is because of the themes in the poem. The main theme is that the mother wants her child to depend on her but also to be independent. In “A Difficult Birth” the two ideas are life and death for the ewe and independence for Ireland. “Catrin” shows the need for independence and the hope for dependence by using a mother and child and I think this is more effective because it’s something everyone can relate to.