Under the book Every stone that turns, Write a critical appreciation of the poem farewell paying particular attention to the relationship between the liberation fighter and his gun.
Farewell my love
more faithful than the shadow
that disappears when clouds crowd out the sun or
when night pulsates with surprises and ambushes
You recall
nocturnal marches in Manica
surprise eruption of bushes
deadly mixed grill of bullets and grenades
How we clutched and rolled
my finger stroking and tagging
your soft and sensitive trigger
you in spasms discharging
lead back into the bushes
Remember the naked nights under the generous
blanket of stars and frost when The Dream seemed
to shatter and fade before fatigue and loneliness
how you comforted me with the wooden
smoothness of your butt and reassured
me with the steel slenderness of your body
We become legends
everything and nothing
freedom fighters and terrorists
heroes and villains
we loved and survived
every tickle of danger
Farewell my love
the job is done
dawn invades the cave
and the dream dissipates
Yet
sometimes at night i still glimpse
bursts of your giggling in the fogging bushes
Farewell
Our love is cut into history
no being that oozes blood
at the slash of a razor
can chisel out the partnership
Analysis
The poem “Farewell” is a powerful and emotive tribute to a weapon, specifically a gun, which has played a significant role in the life of the speaker, who is a liberation fighter. The poem explores the deep and complex relationship between the speaker and his gun, highlighting the ways in which the weapon has been both faithful and comforting, as well as deadly and destructive.The opening lines of the poem set the scene, describing the gun as “more faithful than the shadow” that disappears when clouds crowd out the sun or when night pulsates with surprises and ambushes. This comparison highlights the importance of the gun to the speaker, as well as its reliability and consistency in providing protection and support.
The following lines describe the speaker’s experiences of nocturnal marches in Manica, and the surprise eruption of bushes, which is a deadly mixed grill of bullets and grenades. The imagery of “clutching and rolling” and “stroking and tagging” the gun’s “soft and sensitive trigger” paints a vivid picture of the speaker’s physical and emotional connection to the weapon.
The poem also touches on the emotional impact of war and the speaker’s feelings of fatigue and loneliness. The gun provides comfort to the speaker, with the “wooden smoothness” of its butt and the “steel slenderness” of its body serving as a reassurance during difficult times.
The poem also highlights the complex relationship between the speaker and the gun, and the way in which the weapon is seen as both a savior and a destroyer. The speaker and the gun become “legends,” “heroes and villains,” and the relationship between them is “cut into history.”
In the final lines of the poem, the speaker says farewell to his gun, acknowledging the end of their partnership and the dawn that invades the cave. Yet, he still remembers the gun and its presence, and sometimes at night, he glimpses bursts of its giggling in the fogging bushes, which shows the deep emotional connection he has with the weapon.
Overall, the poem “Farewell” is a powerful and emotive tribute to a weapon that has played a significant role in the speaker’s life. The poem explores the complex relationship between the speaker and his gun, highlighting the ways in which the weapon has been both faithful and comforting, as well as deadly and destructive.
Latest Comments