Blessing

• Blessing


  The poem's title, showing how water plays an integral role in giving life but also causing death
• Poem


  • Part of the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Anthology, exclusively featuring poems
• The poem is called "Blessing" by Imtiaz Dharker
• Water scarcity


  Skin cracks like a pod, there is never enough water
• The opening couplet focuses the reader's attention on the issue of water scarcity
• The imperative sentence "imagine the drip of it" puts the reader in the shoes of the thirsty people
• The onomatopoeia "splash echo in a tin mug" vividly shows how rare water is and how celebrated it is
• Tin mug


  Suggests a modest, rural community
• Voice of a kindly god

  Metaphor depicting water as a god with the power to give and take life
• Sudden rush of fortune

  The municipal pipe bursts, causing water to crash to the ground
• The sibilance and caesura emphasise the sudden, dramatic nature of the water flow
• Water as "silver crashes to the ground"


  Belongs to the semantic field of wealth, showing how valuable water is
• The alliteration "flow has found a roar of tongues" emphasises the rapid movement of the water
• Congregation


  Religious language, showing how integral water is and its almost sacred nature
• The listing of "man woman child for streets around" shows the ubiquity of the action to fetch water
• The description of "frantic hands and naked children" emphasises the desperation and poverty of the community
• Naked children


  Emphasises the innocence and youth of the children, contrasting with their malnourished state
• The personification of water "blessing sings over the small bones" shows how revered and beautiful the water is
• The adjective "small bones" is poignant, showing the rural poverty and malnourishment of the children