1 Some men never think of it.
2 You did. You'd come along
3 And say you'd nearly brought me flowers
4 But something had gone wrong.
5 The shop was closed. Or you had doubts -
6 The sort that minds like ours
7 Dream up incessantly. You thought
8 I might not want your flowers.
9 It made me smile and hug you then.
10 Now I can only smile.
11 But, Look, the flowers you nearly bought
12 Have lasted all this while.
- Wendy Cope
The poem "Flowers" by Wendy Cope uses the central metaphor to compare flowers with the abstract idea of thoughtfulness. The character that she is recounting of in the poem has not brought her any flowers but was indeed thinking about it as the third line says "And say you'd nearly brought me flowers." This thought, however not carried out, has affected the author as much as if the flowers were truly there as she says, "It made me smile and hug you then" (9). In the last two lines the author describes how the mere thought of bringing hers flowers had an even greater effect than flowers could themselves as she says, "But, Look, the flowers you nearly brought,/ Have lasted all this while" (11-12). This poem also contains end rhyme between the second and fourth lines of each stanza.
This poem has a compelling message. It reminds me that material objects don't mean nearly as much as the thought and care of others around. The people in our lives are what truly matter, and too often we divert attention away from that and place value on objects. These objects have no feelings and cannot support and stand by as can the important people in our lives. As the saying goes, "It's the thought that counts."
3 comments:
David, I really enjoyed your poem choice. It has a great message which you pointed out. I agreed when you said, "It's the thought that counts." Although many people over use this phrase, I think you put it with the right situation or in this case, poem. Overall you had really great ideas that fit well with the central metaphor. Nice job David!
Personally... I don't understand it too well except for that it is about thoughtfullness, I'm not the best at deciphering poems :P Sounds very interesting though. I also agree with your choice of a central metaphor, it seems to outweigh the other aspects of poems tone, sound etc.
Good analysis David! I really enjoyed this poem and I like how you wrote about the central metaphor relating the peom to thoughtfulness. I agree with you on how this poem reminds you about how materialistic objects seem very small when compared to the care of others.
good job :)
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