I got flowers today

Poem analysis by

Nova Starr S. Lacerna

Poem by Paulette Kellyc1999

I got flowers today- Paulette Kelly

I got flowers today. 

It wasn't my birthday or any other special day.

We had our first argument last night, 

And he said a lot of cruel things that really hurt me. 

I know he is sorry and didn't mean the things he said. 

Because he sent me flowers today.

I got flowers today. It wasn't our anniversary or any other

special day. Last night, he threw me into a wall

and started to choke me.It seemed like a nightmare. I couldn't believe it was real. I woke up this morning sore and

bruised all over. I know he must be sorry. Because he sent me flowers today.

I got flowers today, and it wasn't Mother's Day or any other special day. 

Last night, he beat me up again. And it was much worse than all

the other times. If I leave him, what will I do? How will I take care of my kids? What about money? I'm afraid of him and scared to

leave. But I know he must be sorry.Because he sent me flowers

today.

I got flowers today. Today was a very special day. It was the day of my funeral. Last night, he finally killed me. He beat me to death. If only I had gathered enough

courage and strength to leave him, 

I would not have gotten flowers...today. 

The

Elements

of the

Poem

Structure

The poem is a

Contemporary Dramatic Monologue

wherein

the SPEAKER is a WOMAN.

It is a vers libre poem; there are no meter patterns and rhyme scheme

Characters

Woman Husband

She isa battered wife anda worried mother.

He isa brutal husband and a killer.

Setting

It is not stated but there is an implication that it is at a

house in the evening time

which shifts to the morning.

place

time

Imagery

The images are connected to the dramatic situation

because they are like

the mobile scenes in a movie.

All the 4 unpleasant images in the poem appeal to the visual, auditory, and

tactile senses.

Image 1

1st fight:

The couple was fighting and the

husband said many cruel words to the wife. The next day, the husband sent her some flowers.

Image 2The husband threw the

wife to wall and

choked her.

The woman woke up in the

morning with a body full of bruises but she received flowers from her husband.

Worsening fight:

Image 3The husband continues

to furiously batter his wife.

The wife starts to think of leaving but she weights her decision by the consequences. In the morning, she receives flowers again.

Enraged battery:

Final image

The husband excessively batters the wife to

DEATH.

Eternal rest:

Final Image

Eternal rest:In the line

“If only I had gathered enough courage

and strength to leave him. . . “ 

The dead wife expressed her

regret for just receiving the flowers

not fighting back.

ImageryThe images is the DOMINATING ELEMENT amongst all elements

because the message is being clearly delivered to the readersusing images and scenes of a wife being battered by the husband.

There is a pattern of the husband beating her every night

Imagery and Organic Unity

And every morning, there is an image of her being left with flowers.

The images is used as a unifier of the elements thus

emancipating a tone of violence and fear and

giving it’s ultimate effect on the readers

in the campaign against violence on women.

• Simile“It seemed like a nightmare” – The wife’s experience was compared to a terrifying dream where she felt helplessness.

• Irony There was no special or happy event but the wife gets flowers. Instead she receives it because something horrifying at home is happening.

symbol Flowers

– a symbol for apology of the husband who hurt his wife

-- a symbol for tolerance of

the wife’s suffering of her husband’s violence.

-- a symbol for the funeral for the wife

ThemeThe repeated lines in every stanza, which serve as

the chorus in the poem is:

“ I got flowers today . . . . . . Because he sent me flowers today”

It also serves as the theme of the poem:SUFFERING due to

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

ThemeDomestic violence!

Fighting and misunderstanding between couples is a normal part of a relationship but it becomes unacceptable and even unforgivable to physically hurt someone.

Nothing, not even a marriage contract, gives you the license to ABUSE someone.

The issue of domestic violence on women here in the Philippines is

not really new. The graph below shows the statistics of reported cases

on violence on women in the country. (UNHCR, 2011)

Think about all the unreported cases . . .

We must support the campaign against domestic violence on women because it causes trauma and death.

We must respect women for who they are because they too are humans and therefore has feelings.

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alternet.org

I got flowers today

Poem analysis by

Nova Starr S. Lacerna

Poem by Paulette Kellyc1999