Sad I Ams

By: Trevor Millum

About the
Poet

TREVOR
MILLUM

Born in the U.K

Writes poems, plays
and stories for all
ages.
Self-employed.
Poetry collections :
A Stegosaurus if
for
Life and Other
animal poems and
Exploding Heads
Comics Strip
Poems.
An Ex-English teacher
Was director of the
National Association
for Teaching of
English

The Poem
I am
the ring
from an empty Cola can
the scrapings
from an unwashed porridge
pan
the severed arm
from last years Action Man
I am
the envelope
on which the gum is gone
the Sellotape
where you cant find the end
the toothless stapler,
springless bulldog clip
the dried-up liquid paper
the mars instead of mends
the stamped addressed reply
that you forgot
to send

I am
the battery in which no
charge is left
the starter motor which
remains inert
the tyre on which the tread
is worn
the sparking plug which
shows no sign of spark
the carburettor choked by
bits of dirt
the chromium trim from
which the shine has gone.
I am
a garden
overgrown with weeds
a library book
that no one ever reads

Poem Analysis: Stanza 1

Poem

Meaning

I am
the ring
from an empty
Cola can
the scrapings
from an
unwashed
porridge pan
the severed arm
from last years
Action Man

The persona is
the ring from an
empty drink can,
leftovers from an
uncleaned
porridge pan
and the broken
arm of last years
action toy.

Stanza 1
the ring
from an
empty Cola
can

the scrapings
from an
unwashed
porridge pan

the severed arm

of last
years Action
Man

Poem Analysis: Stanza 2

Poem

Meaning

I am
the envelope
on which the gum is
gone
the Sellotape
where you cant find
the end
the toothless
stapler, springless
bulldog clip
the dried-up liquid
paper
the mars instead of
mends
the stamped
addressed reply

The persona goes on

to say that he or she
is like an assortment
of unwanted
stationery items
such as an envelope
that cannot be
sealed as the gum is
gone, the roll of
Sellotape which
cannot be peeled
off, an empty stapler
without staples and
a clip that has no

Stanza 2

the
envelope
on which
gum is
the stamped
goneaddressed reply
that you forgot to
send

the
toothless
stapler
the sellotape where
you cant find the
end
springles
s bulldog
clip
the dried-up liquid paper

Poem Analysis: Stanza 3

Poem

Meaning

I am
the battery in which
no charge is left
the starter motor
which remains inert
the tyre on which the
tread is worn
the sparking plug
which shows no sign
of spark
the carburettor
choked by bits of dirt
the chromium trim
from which the shine
has gone.

In this stanza, the

persona likens
himself or herself to
various parts of a
car. The persona is a
battery that cannot
charge, a starter
motor that does not
work, a bald tyre, a
sparking plug with
no life, a dirty
carburettor and not
a too shiny

Stanza 3
the
carburettor
choked by
bits of dirt
the battery in
which no
charge is left
the tyre on which
the tread is worn
the sparking plug
which
shows no sign

the chromium
trim from
which the
shine has gone

the starter
motor
which
remains
inert

Poem Analysis: Stanza 4

Poem
I am
a garden
overgrown with
weeds
a library book
that no one ever
reads
a stray
which no one thinks
to feed
the piece of good
advice which no one
seems to need

Meaning
In the final stanza,
the persona equates
himself/ herself to
an overgrown
garden, a book from
the library that no
one picks out, a
hungry stray and an
unheeded piece of
good advice.

Stanza 4
a stray which
no one
thinks to
feed

a library
book that no
one ever
reads

a garden
overgrown with
weeds

a piece of good
advice which no
one seems to
need

Setting

No
specific
place is
mentione
d.

No specific
time frame is
mentioned.
The persona
is simply
relating his or
her thoughts.

Tone
Gloomy and depressing.
&
Sympathy and sad especially
mood within a family.

P.O.V First person point of view

The gender of the persona is not mentioned.
However, it can be assumed that the persona
Persona
an elderly.

p.o.v point of

Rejecti
on

Negligence
of ones
possessions

Them
es

Feeling
of
uselessn
ess

Negativis
m about
life

Moral Values

Literary
Devices
Scrapings from an unwashed
porridge
pan symbolizes unwanted
things
The scrapings from an unwanted
porridge
pan
The severed arm of last years
Action Man
Persona
regards

himself as the
unwanted things such
as ring of empty cans.
Asso : unwashed porridge pan
Allit : that mars instead of mends
the carburetor choked itself by
bits of dirt
the toothless stapler

THE END

Prepared for : English JKD, PPD Kluang