IntheMidstOfHardship

InTheMidstofHardshipbyLatiffMohidin

Atdawntheyreturnedhome
theirsoakyclothestorn
andapproachedthestove
theirlimbsmarkedbyscratches
theirlegsfullofwounds
butontheirbrows
therewasnotasignofdespair
Thewholedayandnightjustpassed
theyhadtobravethehorrendousflood
inthewaterallthetime
betweenbloatedcarcasses
andtinychipsoftreebarks
desperatelylookingfortheirsons
albinobuffalothatwasneverfound

Theywerebornamidsthardship
andgrewupwithoutasighoracomplaint
nowtheyareinthekitchen,making
jokeswhilerollingtheirciggareteleaves
SYNOPSIS(OVERALL)
Thispoemisaboutafamilywhofaceshardshipwherebytheirsonsalbinobuffaloisnowheretobe
found.Afloodoccursandtheygoouttofindthebuffalo.Theyreachhomeearlyinthemorning
withoutthebuffaloandyetthereisnosignofdespairinthem.Meanwhile,theycanstillcrackjokes
androllthecigarettes.

SYNOPSIS(ACCORDINGTOSTANZA)
STANZA1
Theyreturnedhomeatdaybreakandheadedforthestove.Thisisprobablybecausetheywerehungry.
However,Ihavealsoreceivedsomefeedbackssayingthattheywentstraighttothestovetodry
themselvesastheyweredrenchedwiththefloodwater.Theirclothesweresoakingwetandtattered.
Theirbodieswerecoveredwithscratchesandwounds.Yet,theydidnotdisplayanysignsofbeing
worried.
STANZA2
Theywereoutinthefloodthewholedayandnight.Theyweresurroundedbydeadanimalsandparts
oftreesthathadbeendestroyedbytheflood.Weknowthattheanimalswerealreadydeadbecauseof
thephrasebloatedcarcasses.Theysearcheddesperatelyfortheirsonsalbinobuffalobutwereunable
tofindit.
STANZA3
Theywerebornintopovertyanddifficulty,buttheydonotcomplainabouttheirsuffer.Instead,they
sitinthekitchen,crackingjokeswhilesmokingcigarettes.Thisshowsthattheyfacedifficultiesallthe
timeandthistimethereisnodifferent.Theyhaveinnerstrengththatmakesthemstrongtofaceany
hardshipposestothem.
SETTING
Thesettingofthepoemisinthehouse.
THEMES

Beingresiliencewhenfacinghardship

Familylove

Acceptanceofwayoflife

MORALVALUES
1.

Weshouldlearntoacceptproblemsinlifewithapositiveoutlook.

2.

Wemustattempttofaceandsolveproblem.

3.

Facinghardshipispartandparceloflife.

4.

Ifwefaceaproblem,donotfeeldespair.

TONE,MOOD,ATMOSPHERE

Understandingandsympathetic

Acceptanceofsituation

POINTOFVIEW

Thirdpersonpintofview.

LANGUAGE&STYLE

Languageissimpleandeasytounderstand.

Thestyleissimplewithnorhymingscheme.

POETICDEVICES

ImageryGivespictureofpoetsthoughtse.gsoakyclothestornandlegsfullofwounds

Alliteratione.g.butontheirbrows

Symbolse.g.horrendousfloodandbloatingcarcasses

Dictione.g.stoveandbrows