Blessing : Imtiaz 

Dharker

: This poem, written in free-verse is set in a hot and dry part of the world where water is scarce and where
any appearance of it is a cause for excitement and rejoicing. The free-verse form enables Dharker to
organise the poem around ideas with a freedom to draw attention to specific words or phrases without
consideration of rhyme or rhythmic pattern. An example of this comes at the end of the third stanza where
the list of utensils gradually decreases in status whilst increasing in urgency until the line “frantic hands” in
which the adjective conveys both a sense of despair and of excitement. The sentence does not end at the
end of the stanza, however and the fourth stanza opens after the enjambment with the ambivalent image
of “naked children/screaming…” Here the image manages to once again convey the double emotion – the
verb offering suggestions of pain to the same extent as it offers suggestions of enjoyment.

The stanzas of the poem follow an approach to the issue of water in their content. At the opening of the
poem the pair of single line sentences, with their clear present tense outlining of the situation – “there is
never enough water” present the context for the poem clearly. This is then countered by the imperatives in
the second stanza which urge the reader to engage fully with the poet: “imagine…” The imperative verbs
and the use of onomatopoeia on “drip” and “splash” help to convey the scarcity of this much sought after
commodity.

It is in stanza three that Dharker uses imagery to convey the thrill of the water leak and to establish a link
with the poem’s title. Already she has introduced the idea of a “blessing” at the end of the second stanza
by describing the water as the “voice of a kindly God” (though we might wonder how “kindly’ a god is that
keeps his people in such a state of need). As the third stanza develops she develops the idea. The water is
variously described as “the sudden rush of fortune” and as “silver”. Both images create a sense of great
value and worth on a materialistic scale. In the next stanza, however the “congregation” worshipping
around the pipe are treated to the image of water as “liquid sun”. This is a clear metaphor which puts
water on the same level as the sun as a life-giver and a provider of Goodness. No wonder it is seen as a
blessing and is viewed with wonder, even when it is an imaginary event.

Despite this Blessing there is a single disquieting thought at the end of the poem: The first line and the last
line form a couplet of their own with the unsettling message that “the skin cracks like a pod /over their
small bones”. In the final stanza, Dharker clearly focuses on the children and using the euphemistic phrase
“their highlights polished…” draws attention to this fact. Her euphemism allows their stark thinness to be
seen in a positive light and thus confirms the sense of wonder found elsewhere in the poem.
SCASI: The poem is set in a hot, dry part of the world, where water is seen as a scarce commodity to be
valued highly. The setting is clearly described in the opening line of the poem in which one of the possible
readings suggests that the very “skin” of the Earth itself is cracking “like a pod”.

In this harsh environment, the children and the locals living around a burst water main gather to collect
water. The action is “frantic” and Dharker uses the third stanza to highlight this. Using enjambment to help
to suggest the tumult, she combines metaphors of sound “roar of tongues” and a long list of ever more
mundane utensils to suggest the possible aggression and the urgency with which the villagers contend with
one another for water. Ultimately it is revealed that even “frantic hands” are used, so desperate is the
need to gather this life-giving liquid.

Within the crowd, the children are singled out for attention. At first the imagery is ambivalent – the “naked
children/screaming…” carries an unmistakable suggestion of pain as well as one of sheer enjoyment. The
sense of wonder is stronger, however, due to the euphemistic description of the bodies: rather than
emaciated and unhealthy, these children have “highlights polished to perfection”. It is as though the
Blessing of the water has cured all illness and brought nothing but joy.

This is Dharker’s intention, since the poem is a clear presentation of the view of God providing all for his
followers. The “congregation” are literally blessed by “liquid sun” as the life-giving water pours forth. To
these worshippers, the water is more than this and its high material worth is suggested by references to
“silver” and to a “rush of fortune”. Fortune also connotes luck, and it is possible that Dharker is being ironic
in her title. After all, the God who provides so little in the normal scheme of events, as suggested by the
empty onomatopoeia of “splash” and “drip “into the low status “tin cup” of the second stanza, does not
seem as one who might be likely to provide such bounty as is here unleashed.

The poem uses the freedom of its free-verse structure to ensure that readers are led to the positive view of
the leaking pipe. After opening with the dramatic couplet which sets the context in two single sentence
lines, Dharker introduces a sense of wonder in the second stanza with the imperative “imagine” which
allows the reader to summon up the mental image, assisted by the imagery of sound referred to earlier. In
the third stanza, the listing and particularly the enjambment across the space to the fourth stanza help to
increase this sense of wonder as the momentum of the poem is increased allowing it to gather speed and
power towards the end.

Dharker seems all too aware of the naivety of the villagers who worship at the poor workmanship of the
“municipal pipeline”. However, in her telling of the event, it is the sense of wonder which is presented
clearly to the reader. There is, however an important message concealed in the structure of the poem
which is seen by reading the first and last lines as a couplet with no punctuation: The skin cracks like a
pod/over their small bones. Using “small” to present a human dimension to the poem and presenting the
harsh reality of the event in this way allows Dharker to show clearly that all the wonder created by the
incident will do nothing to alleviate the underlying issues.