In the north the cold and its broken jasmine.
In the east a nightingale full of thorns.
In the south the rose in its airy mines,
and in the west a road deep in thought.
In the north an angel lies gagged.
In the east the song commands its mists.
In the south my tender bunch of thin palm trees,
and in the west my door and my worry.
A flight of cloud or sigh could
trace this finest of all borders
that amply defends my refuge.
A distant retribution of wave bursts
and bites into your foreign oblivion,
my dry island inmidst the battle.
Sara de Ibáñez (1909 - 1971) Uruguay
Translated by Johannes Beilharz
Source: Literature and Art Pages of Johannes Beilharz
can I ask what's the poem all about??
ReplyDeleteSara's poetry in general is characterised by anguish, helplessness, death, love, the self-destruction of humanity and relationship between God and humankind. This poem forms part of that and the title indicates its main idea, i.e. that she is an "island" - cut off from the rest of her environment. The first stanza describes the borders of her island (north, south, east west) in each case with an image of what it's like (e.g. cold and destruction in the north, beauty marred by pain in the east, etc.). The second stanza expands on this by describing her experiences within this confinement again using imagery to illustrate her views. The third stanza describes her fragility - it's an island of "clouds" which can be dispersed by just a sigh, and the final stanza seals her fate - her island is sealed inside her existential battle: she is completely isolated. I hope this helps.
DeleteWhat was the phrase "Island on the Earth suggest"?
DeleteAll meaning by stanza
DeleteHi, what is meaning that poem by each stanza all
Deletehi, can you tell me what social issue is present in this poem? thankss
ReplyDeleteI’m guessing you have an assignment about this poem. So rather than just giving you an answer, when you should be trying to form your own analysis, I’ll give you a couple of lines of investigation. Firstly, think about issues of isolation in today’s crowded world - how might this poem reflect that? Secondly, this poem is filled with nature imagery and we are in the midst of a climate crisis - how might the poet have been commenting on this (even though written some years ago)?
DeleteThe poem is good i guess? But it's confusing i can't understand a thing about it.... =))
ReplyDeleteYour answers to the anonymous user's questions are of great help. I am also one of the students who has an assignment about it and I am a bit confused as to what this poem is about so thanks!
ReplyDeletethis poem is surely deep that i can't even understand a thing lmao,,, im wondering, what does she mean by the "my dry island" in the last part?
ReplyDeletethis poem is surely deep that i merely understand it's thought lmao,,, i wonder what she mean by the "my dry island" in the last part(?)
ReplyDeletePlease read my earlier response which describes what this poem is about - the island image is herself, so the idea of being dry means she feels that her life is dry, i.e. lacking in the fertility that water would bring
DeleteWhat was the phrase "Island on the Earth"suggest ?
DeleteWhat is the text discussion of the poem?what does it not discuss?
ReplyDeleteIf you could change the poem,how would you rewrite it?
ReplyDeleteWhat does the phrase "Island on the Earth " suggest ?
ReplyDeleteWhat does the phrase "island on the earth"suggest?
ReplyDeleteTo those of you who keep posting the question 'What does the phrase "island on the earth" suggest?' - which seems obviously an essay or homework question - you really ought to present your own view and not someone else's you have found on the Internet. However, please read my summary of what the poem is about at the beginning of these comments for some pointers.
ReplyDeleteHow to interpret this?
ReplyDelete