Robed in soil
Blood boil
Yelling hunger and dear monger
Why this maddening anger?
Why sue her when she's only soothe in soot?
And her wares thief loot?
No light in her eyes
Clouds fill her skies
Energy lost trinket earned
Her soul she erred
Holding to hope of eternity
Cowering from infidelity.
Hope dashed
Happiness bashed
With savings lover absconded
Pain seconded
Why not change her ways
And go astray?
Here is a poem about life situation of a woman who is living quite a tough life.
In the first stanza, the woman is said to be 'robed in soil', meaning that she is in a completely poor state. 'Blood boil' this could result from the frustration derived from not able to meet her needs. 'Yelling hunger' her hunger is said to be yelling meaning that she must have left herself hungry and act as if unaware that the hunger has to yell. 'dear monger, why this maddening anger' she must have owe the monger some debts that the monger had to get 'really' furious. 'Why sue her when she's only soothe in soot?' the monger is suing her and the poetic persona thinks she should not be sued for how would she pay when her home is in the soot? 'And her wares thief loot?' Even in her condition, she is still being victimized.
The second stanza further exposes us to how critical her situation is that she looks as if she is without life. She works but earns just a little. Yet, she remains unwavering in values and being decent because of eternity.
The last stanza gives us more about her struggles. Her hope was dashed and happiness destroyed alongside. With her savings, her lover fled and her pain became doubled. The poem is ended with a rhetorical question from the woman after all she has endured - 'Why not change her way and go astray?'
Rather than the woman focused on in this poem, the poem covers the life of everyone who lives a challenging life. The challenges may be similar or different from the woman's but it clearly concerns those who in the end starts to have and nurture the thought of 'going astray.'
Going astray appears to be the only solution in such a situation and that is why we see a lot of people go astray these days.
This poem is of three stanzas with each stanza having six lines (a sestet). The poem has end rhymes of aabbcc.
Poetic devices in this poem include metaphor as seen in 'robed in soil', alliteration as seen in 'g' sound in lines 3 and 4 and rhetorical question as seen in lines 4 - 6, and line 18.