The Pond Poem Analysis

“The Pond” by Mervyn Morris Jamaica's first Poet Laureate since independence in 1962 is a seventeen line poem about a boy who is dealing with fear deep within himself (nameless horrors 1st stanza) He eventually summons up the courage to face it one day in the 2nd stanza, and when he does he realizes that there was no scary outcome, or nothing he should have been afraid of all along (last 3 lines - sun came bright out of the dark and he sees his reflection).With the author specific use of diction, structure, symbolism, the poem emerges into a metaphorical tale of childhood, education, coming of age and youthful discovery. According to ("Ponds", 2013) a pond is a small area of still, fresh water that has fish, plants and living creatures in,

The author does not follow a strict pattern when he wrote this poem, indeed, this poem contains poetic lines and poetic imagery that distinguishes it from prose. This seventeen line poem consists of only three stanzas, in which each stanza the author uses some form of punctuation to slow the flow of the poem slightly and also showing the reader how the poem should be read, as well enjambed lines are used all three stanzas to keep the flow of the poem moving at a steady pace. In this poem we are told that the village consist of a pond, such object in a minimalist manner suggest the fullness of life (work and food whereby the pond may have likely provided fish for the villagers, agriculture whereby the pond supply’s water hole for cattle, either grazing on the green itself or providing water for itinerant droves on the move to market or up the valley for summer pasture and family

The picture is seen through the eyes of the young boy, but filtered through the consciousness of an adult; this provides two different perspectives from which to interpret the poem. To the boy, these feelings and experience are deeply embedded in his consciousness. They may very well be defining moments of his childhood and young adulthood. This poem theme reflects on childhood, education, coming of age and youthful discovery and is paired with a lyrical voice that is gently humorous and wrought with carefully crafted satire. It expresses subtle moments of personal experience and the yearning to clinch a means with which to convey those fleeting seconds. The poem presents us to what may be arguably Morris' most telling contribution to Caribbean verse - poems of domesticity and affection. Many of his poems are shards of personal memory, fragments of autobiography. In this poem, he makes the accurate connection between lived experience and poeming. Knowing that Meryn Morris was born and raised in Jamaica helps us to place this poem within a specific context. In most poems, readers confuse speaker and poet, however, in this poem we can reasonably assume that the speaker and the poet are