The city is never specified, it could be one of the many places throughout history where people have had to go into exile because of a chanhe of regime or natural disaster.
Poem is from Rumen's 1993 collection: Thinking of Skins.
Overview:
The speaker is an adult living in exile looking back at the city in which they spent their childhood. Despite their understanding that it may be 'ick with tyrants', the speaker cannot but see it as a good place - they are 'branded by an impression of sunlight', even though it is unattainable - perhaps because it never existed.
"There once was a country..."
Effective language
An echo of the opening of conventional children's stories: 'Once upon a time...' or 'Long ago and far away'>
"Branded by an impression of sunlight".
Effective language
'Branded' is a word torn with ambiguity: it is a sign of being owned, and it is a way of marking out as having a particular bad or shameful quality.
"Bright, filled paperweight".
Metaphor
The memory has no more value than a trinket with no lasting value. Memories hold down her sanity, as a paperweight holds down papers.
Aspects of Power and Conflict:
Conflict between memory and reality
It is like the Garden of Eden, a place where the speaker is locke dout of.
