Commentary on the Blessing

“Blessing” by Imtiaz Dharker reflects upon the importance of water and the harsh conditions; that the people of the region on which the poem is based; bear.

In this poem Dharker explains the problem that the local people are facing, that is, the shortage of purified water to drink. The title “Blessing” describes waters as how the locals see it to be; a blessing; it also conveys the message of being thankful to God if you get water and not waste it.

The poem starts with the lines “The skin cracks like a pod. There never is enough water” this might be taken into consideration as a pun since the skin could mean either the ground on which the locals are or it could mean the local people’s skin either of which crack when there is deficiency of water. This also creates a contrast since cracking of skin relates to death yet it is connected to a pod which signifies life. The last stanza states that “naked children screaming in the liquid sun, their highlights (…..) blessing sings over their small bones”; this tells us that the weather is very hot since one can see the Sun as “liquid” which one usually sees when one is dehydrated or in a desert sort of a setting. This implies that the children are sweating and sweat is made up of water therefore it is being referenced as a blessing. The symbol in this poem is “water” which signifies life.

The stanzaic structure of the poem is irregular therefore perhaps relating to the unorderly manner in which people are trying to get water

“The voice of a kindly God” mentioned is none other than the each of the drop of water in a tin mug; the “voice” is signifying that the prayer of the local people to have water is being answered through this “voice”.

The atmosphere created in this poem is that of misery, one can infer this by seeing the setting to be a slum region and by the struggle of the people to survive. There is no rhyme scheme and some lines have been enjambed which perhaps shows the agitation of the poet by seeing such a situation. The poet also upgrades the value of water when she compared it with silver in the 3rd stanza 2nd – 3rd line. There is also use of synecdoche “roar of tongues” which shows the excitement in people to see water.

By Anant Saxena Grade 11