Shahid Shafi's poem and its analysis by Tariq Ahmad Tariq

Tariq Ahmad Tariq

Poet: Shahid Shafi

Analysis by: Tariq Ahmad Tariq

Todays poem is a little bit confusing for me. May be my intellect would be failing to pick the thread.

This poem has four stanzas. The first  stanza provides the setting. The third and the fourth  stanzas hired by flashback technique make the plot; the last stanza brings forth the required conclusion.

It is said, if in a certain play the first scene displays a gun hung on the wall; in the last scene it has to fire. By going this approach the poem seems to open on the sad note. The speaker has sleep-sick eyes. The night is in its darkest rage which makes the otherwise bright eyes of the speaker assume the gloom worn look.The fox wails at the end plaines adds to the haunting atmosphere outside and makes it more grim.  The speaker, however,  tries to fill his eyes with happy moments by recollecting how he had once spent a sleepless night at a cute inn and had found a reason to fall in love.

The speaker does again make setting in a way that connotes a diffetent story. The inn is decorated with artificial flowers,  ornamental furniture. There are soothing lights, and a girl is displaying erotic gestures. She makes her maiden love speech and the job of the speaker is done.He falls prey to the erotic gestures. He falls in love with the girl. 

Though the speaker calls the moments spent at the inn very precious,  he, however, fails  to call his love  a spritual affair by dubbing the gestures of his girl erotic. Thus the visit paid to the inn had extended him sensual enjoyment to the core. 

The dead dark night is now in full rage,  and it snatches from the speaker the joyful flashback. The speaker realizes with pain that he is in deep trouble and can not deceive the horrible night, and he does instead say goodbye to the sights which had once offered him sensual pleasures to the tune that he never forgets.

The poem does not have too much of novelity of ideas. There aren't too many shades of connotations. Free verse technique has been used.Not too many poetic devices in view. The poet has,  however,  justified the theme that "When in deep waters,  whimsies fail to land you at safer islands".

A good attempt.