Facing adversity
Life is full of struggles.It is how man faces adversity that is important.The family does not have much and even loses something precious to the son.But they laugh the face of adversity and take it in their stride because they have one another.
The power of love
The parents love the son so much that they risk their own well-being to look for their son's buffalo in the floods.The son too worries about his pet,a strange creature because it is an albino.The strangeness means nothing to the son,he loves it all the same.
The power of nature
Man must not take Nature for granted.Nature is powerful and when she unleashes her power,she can sweep away everything. Man has to learn to be humble before Nature,just like the couple in the poem.
Style
The language used by the poet is simple and most of the words are familiar.
Punctuation
There are not full stops used in the poem,probably to show that the hard struggle of the family has been long and will continue to be so.
Stanza 1
At dawn they returned home
their soaky clothes torn
and approached the stove
their limbs marked by scratches
their legs full of wounds
but on their brows
there was not a sign of despair
The whole day and night just passed
they had to brave the horrendous flood
in the water all the time
between bloated carcasses
and tiny chips of tree barks
desperately looking for their son’s
albino buffalo that was never found
They were born amidst hardship
and grew up without a sigh or a complaint
now they are in the kitchen, making
jokes while rolling their ciggarete leaves
SYNOPSIS (OVERALL)
This poem is about a family who faces hardship whereby their son’s albino buffalo is nowhere to be found. A flood occurs and they go out to find the buffalo. They reach home early in the morning without the buffalo and yet there is no sign of despair in them. Meanwhile, they can still crack jokes and roll the cigarettes.
SYNOPSIS...