The poem is about somebody who had to leave their country as a child to be safe. They are looking back fondly whilst lamenting the discrimination they face in their new country.
Context, Carol Rumens
Rumens was born in London but also lived in Belfast and Wales as well as traveling throughout Russia and Eastern Europe
This aspect of her life is reflected in her writing which is largely about foreign customs, cultures, and language.
Context, The Emigree
From the 1993 collection "Thinking of Skins" which is centered on political consciousness in Russia and Eastern Europe
In the collection, there is a focus on the relationship between identity and culture
'Thereonce was a country..."
Temporal deixis
Creates a childlike tone
Similiar the fairy tales, e.g. "once upon a time"
"My memory of it is sunlight-clear"
motif of sun-light
connotations of the warmth and happiness we look back at childhood with
"It may be at war, it may be sick with tyrants"
Personification of the country (sick)
Shows the personal relationship the narrator has with her country, it is woven into her identity and shaped her the same way a person would
"may" suggests she cannot fully grasp what her country has come to, her "original view" cannot be broken
"I am branded by an impression of sunlight"
metaphor
shows she is forever marked and burnt by her childhood memories
shows it is a permanent part of her idenity
perhaps shows there is also trauma, as branding is painful and leaves a scar
perhaps shows the 'sunglight' is actually dangerous and is burning her
"That child's vocabulary I carried here like a hollow doll, opens and spills a grammar"
Theme of language shows how the narrator has not moved on from her childhood
Hollow doll is perhaps symbolic of the stacking dolls typically found in eastern Europe, shows she is missing parts of herself
"opens and spills a grammar" is not proper English and shows her childhood identity forces itself out, and does not obey the laws of the English language
"it may by now be a lie, banned by the state"
Could refer to anything positive she has to say about her home land
Could also suggest that the language used in that country has also been banned
"but i can'tget it off my tongue. It tastes of sunlight"
Motif of sunlight
gustatory imagery shows the narrator's delight in the memory
she couldn't lose her identity if she tried
"I have no passport, there's no way back at all"
Alludes to the pain and conflict inflicted by man-made borders
Shows she feels lost as there is no way back to her identity
"They accuse me of abscene" "They accuse me of being dark in their free city"
Emphatic repetition shows the persecution the narrator endures in her new home by creating a violent tone
"my shadow falls as evidence of sunlight"
A shadow is not tangible, you cannot hold it, the only thing that proves her country was the way she remembered is a fleeting darkness that leaves when the sun stes
however the fact she has a shadow, shows there must have once been sunlight to create it
Form
Free verse
No rhyme or rhythm
could represent the chaos and lack of control over a country with no stable government
juxtaposes the positive imagery in the poem
form could be presenting freedom also
limited order (similar stanza lengths) could represent the attempt at order in her life through emigration
Repetition
repeating "they" creates an aggressive and accusatory tone
reflects the aggression she receives from people in her new city "they accuse me of being dark"
she is experiencing a new threat, social rejection rather than physical conflict
Extended metaphor
The poem acts as an extended metaphor for lost childhood
narrator has naiive childlike tendencies
her relationship with her former city is almost maternal
"i comb its hair and love its shining eyes" implies she has maternal unconditional love and protection for the city
"my city hides behind me" implies she is attempting to defend it from the criticism of the outside world
The best poem to compare it to is "checking out me history"