allusion to fantasy

• The poem opens with a temporal phrase "there was once a country" which is reminiscent of a fairytale.

  • This imbues the text with a childlike sense of fantasy.
• The opening using a temporal phrase could lead us to question the reliability of the speaker's testaments.

  • It is clear she has allowed her perception of her past home to be gripped by a fantastical and imaginative quality.
• The opening temporal phrase is followed by a caesura in the form of ellipses, this reinforces the unreliability of her memories as she installs a pause as if she was retrieving her thoughts.

  • Alternatively, it could portray how her idyllic childhood was interrupted and cut short as her home descended into warfare.
• The oxymoronic phrase "my shadow falls as evidence of sunlight" portrays an impossible image.

  • She now exists in a liminal fantasy realm as she is not welcomed as a citizen of her new home.