The skin cracks like a pod.
There never is enough water.
The skin cracks like a pod — simile, impact of lack of water +imagery
- Short , direct, impactful
- Metaphorical for the earth
Never
- Abseloute and ongoing, implies this is normal
Full stop
- Declerative, has an impact on the reader
Imagine the drip of it,
the small splash, echo
in a tin mug,
the voice of a kindly god.
Imagine
- Imperative, demands empathy from the reader
Small Splash
-Sibilance, slows down, adds a sense of longing
-emphasises the scarcity of water
Tin Mug
-Reinenforces poverty
The voice of a kindly god
- Metaphor, water being compared to god
-kindly - god looking down favouanly
- religous undertones
echo in a tin mug,
- emjambent, emphasies longing and the scarcity of water
Sometimes, the sudden rush
of fortune. The municipal pipe bursts,
silver crashes to the ground
and the flow has found
a roar of tongues. From the huts,
a congregation: every man woman
child for streets around
butts in, with pots,
brass, copper, aluminium,
plastic buckets,
frantic hands,
Sudden rush
- oppotune moments
The municipal pipe bursts
- Clause, accidental, actual blessing
Silver
- Metaphor, water being compared to silver because it is so precious
Crashes
- Onomatopeia, dramatic verbs
A roar of tongues
- Metaphor, Exitement, animalistic desperation
Congregation
- Religous Imagery, the communtiy
Colon
- Tells us whats in the congregation
Listing, Lack of pronounciation
- implies desparate rush, everone is pushing eachother,
-people are using anything to get the water - more and more desparate
and naked children
screaming in the liquid sun,
their highlights polished to perfection,
flashing light,
as the blessing sings
over their small bones.
Screaming
- shows the joy of the chilldren
Liquid Sun
-Metaphor, compares to the water
Polised to perfection
- the water restores the childrens health
Blessings
-Religous Imagery
Sings
- Personification, joyous an moent to celebrate
Small Bones
- Contrast, reminds us it is still not good, ensures the poem ends in a dramatic way to reach out the reader
Structure and Rhyme Scheme - Blessing
Random Stucture
- Water Bursting, no regularity
Religous Imagery
-Empahsises humanity and vunerability
