Blessing

Structure
• The amount of writing in each stanza relates to water flow from the pipe.
First it is slow, then a big burst comes out and then it begins to slow down

Language
• Word order to effect
o “there never is enough water”
- Is and never should be swapped around, but this emphasises never
- Makes it uncomfortable to read, which enacts the uncomfort of their
situation- so much heat and no water- dehydration

Themes
• Incorrect/ lack of punctuation
o “kindly god”
- The sound of water is so precious and rare it is like a god
- The no capital on God, may suggest they have o faith in god because of
their dire situation
- May also emphasise how they are uneducated and how hard this life is for
them
o “silver crashes...flow has found...every man woman child”
- May show again- people are uneducated
- Could represent the fast flow of water as you have to read it fast as there
are no breaks
- Makes the person breathless when they read it, which enacts how
breathless everyone is as they have run here and are shoving past each
other to get some water
- The fact that each of the three types of being are put together shows their
equal need for water
• Religious references
o “congregation”
- Sounds like when people go to church and worship god- shows how much
they are worshipping the water
- Emphasises how little of it they have and how valuable it is to them
o “roar of tongues”
- Enacts how everyone is shouting to get water
- This word is also used in the bible to spread the word of Jesus- may
suggest the spread of the news or how far the word of water has gone in
such little time

Imagery
• Simile
o “The skin cracks like a pod”
- Could be referring to the third world’s peoples skin- because of heat and
lack of water
- Could refer to the soil and earth- soil begins to lighten and crack in a
drought
- Could refer to community spirit
- A pod cracks and dries out when it is ripe- could suggest everything in the
town is like this because it is old
 - “k” sound repetition emphasises this, along with the monosyllabicness
• Metaphor
o “silver crashes to the ground”
- Shows that water has a lot of worth to them
- Sounds like it is a metaphor for dropping change on the ground
- People will rush to pick this up- which emphasises the franticness of the
people and how little they receive water

Sound
• Onomatopoeia
o “drip...splash”
- This enacts the sound of water, and makes the whole poem seem more
lifelike and realistic
- Emphasises how precious water is to them
• Alliteration
o “flow has found”
- Shows that the water is causing panic
- Emphasises the constant flow and steady stream
o “highlights polished to perfection”
- Opposite to their skin at the beginning of the poem- it is now clean,
hydrated and smooth
- Contrast emphasises how much of a necessity it is for life
- May be talking about their hair because it is now clean
- May also be talking about when the sun shines on your hair and the static
hairs catch the sun and create a sort of halo
- Shows their happiness and how lively they are now
• Hard sounds
o “copper...plastic”
- Enacts the water hitting the earth and being absorbed and the yelps of the
people