Setting/sense of place
GS1: Harsh/bleak/poverty stricken/decay: “a mean wind”, “left to smash” and “air too poor to rob”
ITSB: dangerous/non-inclusive/neglectful: “a few yards of floor are like a landscape to be negotiated with” and “few heads turns… crowded evening snack bar”
TRIO: friendly/vitality/bustle/festive/cold/winter: “cloud of happiness” and “under the Christmas lights”
STRAWBERRIES: “sultry” and “hot sunlight”
DIDS: sad/urban/Glasgow: “greasy street” and “cars stop, nose past, withdraw”
Violence
GS1: atmosphere/environment: “a mean wind”, “left to smash” and “air too poor to rob”
ITSB: environment towards the man: “a few yards of floor are like a landscape to be negotiated with” and “slowly we go up”
TRIO: defeats violence through love: “laughing” and “cloud of happiness”
LOVE: violent side of love: “love is terror” and “unenviable fate”
DIDS: suddenness of the situation: “he fell” and “eyes fixed on the sky”
Character
GS1: anonymous poor people: “last mistresses”
ITSB: vulnerable elderly man: “dismal hump” and “long blind… half-paralysed”
TRIO: positive group: “laughing” and “march of three”
STRAWBERRIES: “held” and “eager”
DIDS: vulnerable man/young boy/helpful mother: “frayed blue trousers”, “youth, nervous” and “kneeling”
Neglect
GS1: nobody cares about the place/people: “left to smash” and “roses of mould”
ITSB: people don’t offer help/ environment isn’t disability friendly: “a few yards are like a landscape to be negotiated with” and “evade”
STRAWBERRIES: “abandoned like a child” and “memory”
DIDS: not everyone offers help/dying man appears unkept: “cars stop, nose past, withdraw” and “frayed rough blue trousers”
Human connection
ITSB: Society’s rejection/narrators help: “i take his arm” and “clings”
TRIO: platonic love/togetherness: “laughing” and “cloud of happiness”
STRAWBERRIES: “dipped” and “held”
LOVE: people connecting through love/physical connection: “love is”
DIDS: people coming together to help: “kneeling”
Suffering
GS1: physical/mentally of people and environment: “rats crawl”, “kettle whimpers” and “roses of mould”
ITSB: physical agony and humiliation: “slowly he levers himself up”, “like a monstrous animal” and “dismal hump”
TRIO: defeats any suffering: “monsters of the year” and “laughter”
STRAWBERRIES: “abandoned like a child” and “memory”
LOVE: heartbreak/abusive side: “love is terror”
Social responsibility
GS1: failure of society to support those in poverty: “left to smash” and “chipped”
ITSB: society ignore the man: “a few yards of floor are like a landscape to be negotiated with” and “evade”
TRIO: keeping hope alive: “laughing” and “cloud of happiness”
DIDS: reaction from bystanders: “cars stop, nose past, withdraw” and “kneeling”
Sense of hope/hopelessness
GS1: no positive future/cant escape poverty: “left to smash” and “cracks deepen”
ITSB: the man cannot escape from his disabilities/cant rely on society in general: “he is up s far as he can get”, “clings” and “long blind… half-paralysed”
TRIO: triumph of hope: “laughing and “cloud of happiness”
STRAWBERRIES: “abandoned like a child” and “memory”
DIDS: poem ends with a death: “eyes fixed on the sky” and “out beyond”
Decay
GS1: environmental decay: “old mattresses puff briefly and subside”, “left to smash” and “roses of mould”
ITSB: old mans frailty/disabilities: “dismal hump” and “long blind…half-paralysed”
LOVE: view of love is changing/going downhill negatively: “love is terror” and “alter its state”
