Child Roots by Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Paul Sutherland’s collection of poems in this book indicates the poetic style of his age. His themes, however, are subtle and soul-stirring. On the whole, the poet describes his point of view by focussing on the mind of children observed through a mature sensibility of a learned poet in an ironic way. The main vision glitters throughout this book throwing light on the child-man poetic interaction. In ‘A Day trip to primary school’ we see the darker side of life as the child’s ‘horrid cuddle’ may suggest the state of trauma. ‘Crushed heart’ seems to be the ultimate truth of life. Childhood is the time when children as in this poem are at school that join and ‘…wave hands like reeds along each lowland road.’ ‘Lake’ like the ‘fanned peacock’ girl is ‘colourful’ in ‘A little girl by the lake’ at Biyyam Kayal near Ponanni. The poet observes the mirror as well as his own ‘aged hands’ and realized that he is growing old, unlike this pure, pristine lake, for, ‘there’s not a wrinkle on the lake.’ Sutherland sites the same purity of soul in a five years old Emma in ‘A traveller’s vignette for Enna as ‘who sought the scent of everything’ – a reminiscence of ‘The Solitary Reaper.’ A glimpse of old age is given in ‘The painted turtle.’ The gaze of the turtle remains fixed ‘above the surface into the horizon suggesting the life hereafter ‘with slow reflection’ like a ‘grandfather. ’ With what love and care a child cherishes its toy is described in the prose caption ‘A passing teddy bear in the hand of a boy.’ The child believes the toy to be his closest partner, into whose life and self he could merge and become one without ‘friction’ just ‘deflect danger or punishment.’ ‘Friction’ alludes to ‘danger or punishment.’ Children are expected to think on these lines – what a universal truth. ‘A soft snout’ ‘A sort of kid ant-eater’ suggests the heart full of innocent hope which does not beg ‘armour’ of worldly ambition. The poem ‘This time’ explores the mystery of a child’s mind, excited by the spirit of finding out that which has ‘disappeared.’ The ‘un-obscure’ – of this flat world remains monotonous. In ‘animals she knows’ subtle impressions of nature look like the innocent animals to a child, such as the full moon which throws light on ‘white zebra band’; ‘Tiger Lilies/ roar’ across ‘iron fence’ and the ‘Gold Fish surface’ that ‘mutter’ with bewilderment. ‘Pink petals’ as a child caressing ‘grave-stone-head’ is amazing. ‘Chalk’ is a thoughtful note on a community which is peaceful and prosperous. The communal, family harmony of relationship mirrors the happy mood of its children. Children are quick to respond to the disturbance caused by the smear of the tyres. The smear might mean the dent of an accident on the road of life generation after generation. In ‘Grieving for Farrah’ describes his emotional attachment with Farrah. Like ‘strawberry’ pickers and ‘slim ball-roller,’ Farrah is no more except in the vicinity of his memory ‘who keeps on hooting.’ ‘My granddaughter battles the sea with a red plastic sea’ is a profound poem. A child playing wet sandy waves may suggest the mortal time into which humans are thrown, to face the buffets ‘watch out, my daughter’/ the combers are tall as you.’ ‘Waves’ is also the souls that disappear ‘beyond the horizon.’ In ‘Drying coconuts’ the coconuts enjoy a perfect intimacy with the heat of the sun or nature. Such closeness cultivates the capacity to ‘absorb immeasurable changes’ unlike the builders who ‘leave…new window sills and doors’ / ‘never to be perfected.’ The assimilative coconuts are like the heart of a mother ever willing to embrace her child with all the maternal warmth. In ‘Rippling Colours’ the children stand for a cosmopolitan community of all faiths. Because of apprehended violence on religious grounds, the members of various faiths need protection. In this poem, teachers are there for this. Though, these teachers may as well be the spiritual mentors of their followers. In ‘For Ben on a rainy Christmas Eve’ the ‘shamanistic visitor’ looks for a soul pure like the ‘love a toddler.’ The beauty of such a pure soul is that beyond the mundane onslaughts of the warring elements of nature, it pines to find solace by being a host to the sleigh of Santa Claus. In ‘Among Children’ the children note the poet’s age as ‘your chin’s camouflaged!’ not knowing what the poet thinks. The latter observes their behaviour and what they talk about passing comments. The children are innocent in manifesting their inner feelings mainly to exert their identities. Ali impresses his friends by saying that daisy petals ‘smell like lavender.’ The girl shows her displeasure at her nickname. The children vie among themselves over the butterfly landings as if the eventual row between the British and the Americans regarding the execution of the strategic calculation of right time and day during the epic Burgundy landings. In ‘Papa’s and Grandma’s place’ the cosy and homely self perceives ‘the other’ in the dwelling place of the grandparents only three blocks away. The grandparent’s house preserves history, the social self for being hosts to visitors. The way to their home is across the houses whose dwellers, especially the juvenile are noticed as being provocative and inciting. The other, therefore, is not necessarily the one who speaks another language or has a different colour but it could be anyone within one’s own circle. In ‘Winter falls’ the awe-inspiring mystery of the behaviour of winter is described. First, several lines propose the coming of winter like the children in a playfield. In the next part of the poem, we read some of the finest verses of the English genre: how the river waves play hide and seek by reacting to the severity of winter. Towards the end, we are reminded of the pain of departing. Pain is also the pain of the severity of winter and its impact on the ground covering everything into its snowy white folds. Miscellaneous themes weave through the whole collection: reiterating the wizard observations of a mature poetic self. The universal truths are glimpsed through the mind and activity of children in particular. Paul Sutherland connects human sensibility with nature, which connection we all need desperately. We are hemmed in by the harmful effects of technology unknowingly. Besides, Sutherland is equally marvellous in capturing the feelings of old age when we long to let in the ‘loved’ ones to visit us through ‘the hidden serpentine tracks.’ The ‘gate-keeper’s call’ may anticipate the hinge of the door into the next world as we read in the poem ‘from Seven Earth Odes, V, The Words’ (p.70). this is the final stage of life ‘when yearning’s exhausted.’
by Dr. Zulfiqar Ali
Paul Sutherland’s collection of poems in this book indicates the poetic style of his age. His themes, however, are subtle and soul-stirring. On the whole, the poet describes his point of view by focussing on the mind of children observed through a mature sensibility of a learned poet in an ironic way. The main vision glitters throughout this book throwing light on the child-man poetic interaction. In ‘A Day trip to primary school’ we see the darker side of life as the child’s ‘horrid cuddle’ may suggest the state of trauma. ‘Crushed heart’ seems to be the ultimate truth of life. Childhood is the time when children as in this poem are at school that join and ‘…wave hands like reeds along each lowland road.’ ‘Lake’ like the ‘fanned peacock’ girl is ‘colourful’ in ‘A little girl by the lake’ at Biyyam Kayal near Ponanni. The poet observes the mirror as well as his own ‘aged hands’ and realized that he is growing old, unlike this pure, pristine lake, for, ‘there’s not a wrinkle on the lake.’ Sutherland sites the same purity of soul in a five years old Emma in ‘A traveller’s vignette for Enna as ‘who sought the scent of everything’ – a reminiscence of ‘The Solitary Reaper.’
A glimpse of old age is given in ‘The painted turtle.’ The gaze of the turtle remains fixed ‘above the surface into the horizon suggesting the life hereafter ‘with slow reflection’ like a ‘grandfather. ’
With what love and care a child cherishes its toy is described in the prose caption ‘A passing teddy bear in the hand of a boy.’ The child believes the toy to be his closest partner, into whose life and self he could merge and become one without ‘friction’ just ‘deflect danger or punishment.’ ‘Friction’ alludes to ‘danger or punishment.’ Children are expected to think on these lines – what a universal truth.
‘A soft snout’ ‘A sort of kid ant-eater’ suggests the heart full of innocent hope which does not beg ‘armour’ of worldly ambition. The poem ‘This time’ explores the mystery of a child’s mind, excited by the spirit of finding out that which has ‘disappeared.’ The ‘un-obscure’ – of this flat world remains monotonous. In ‘animals she knows’ subtle impressions of nature look like the innocent animals to a child, such as the full moon which throws light on ‘white zebra band’; ‘Tiger Lilies/ roar’ across ‘iron fence’ and the ‘Gold Fish surface’ that ‘mutter’ with bewilderment. ‘Pink petals’ as a child caressing ‘grave-stone-head’ is amazing. ‘Chalk’ is a thoughtful note on a community which is peaceful and prosperous. The communal, family harmony of relationship mirrors the happy mood of its children. Children are quick to respond to the disturbance caused by the smear of the tyres. The smear might mean the dent of an accident on the road of life generation after generation. In ‘Grieving for Farrah’ describes his emotional attachment with Farrah. Like ‘strawberry’ pickers and ‘slim ball-roller,’ Farrah is no more except in the vicinity of his memory ‘who keeps on hooting.’ ‘My granddaughter battles the sea with a red plastic sea’ is a profound poem. A child playing wet sandy waves may suggest the mortal time into which humans are thrown, to face the buffets ‘watch out, my daughter’/ the combers are tall as you.’ ‘Waves’ is also the souls that disappear ‘beyond the horizon.’ In ‘Drying coconuts’ the coconuts enjoy a perfect intimacy with the heat of the sun or nature. Such closeness cultivates the capacity to ‘absorb immeasurable changes’ unlike the builders who ‘leave…new window sills and doors’ / ‘never to be perfected.’ The assimilative coconuts are like the heart of a mother ever willing to embrace her child with all the maternal warmth. In ‘Rippling Colours’ the children stand for a cosmopolitan community of all faiths. Because of apprehended violence on religious grounds, the members of various faiths need protection. In this poem, teachers are there for this. Though, these teachers may as well be the spiritual mentors of their followers. In ‘For Ben on a rainy Christmas Eve’ the ‘shamanistic visitor’ looks for a soul pure like the ‘love a toddler.’ The beauty of such a pure soul is that beyond the mundane onslaughts of the warring elements of nature, it pines to find solace by being a host to the sleigh of Santa Claus. In ‘Among Children’ the children note the poet’s age as ‘your chin’s camouflaged!’ not knowing what the poet thinks. The latter observes their behaviour and what they talk about passing comments. The children are innocent in manifesting their inner feelings mainly to exert their identities. Ali impresses his friends by saying that daisy petals ‘smell like lavender.’ The girl shows her displeasure at her nickname. The children vie among themselves over the butterfly landings as if the eventual row between the British and the Americans regarding the execution of the strategic calculation of right time and day during the epic Burgundy landings.
In ‘Papa’s and Grandma’s place’ the cosy and homely self perceives ‘the other’ in the dwelling place of the grandparents only three blocks away. The grandparent’s house preserves history, the social self for being hosts to visitors. The way to their home is across the houses whose dwellers, especially the juvenile are noticed as being provocative and inciting. The other, therefore, is not necessarily the one who speaks another language or has a different colour but it could be anyone within one’s own circle. In ‘Winter falls’ the awe-inspiring mystery of the behaviour of winter is described. First, several lines propose the coming of winter like the children in a playfield. In the next part of the poem, we read some of the finest verses of the English genre: how the river waves play hide and seek by reacting to the severity of winter. Towards the end, we are reminded of the pain of departing. Pain is also the pain of the severity of winter and its impact on the ground covering everything into its snowy white folds.
Miscellaneous themes weave through the whole collection: reiterating the wizard observations of a mature poetic self. The universal truths are glimpsed through the mind and activity of children in particular. Paul Sutherland connects human sensibility with nature, which connection we all need desperately. We are hemmed in by the harmful effects of technology unknowingly. Besides, Sutherland is equally marvellous in capturing the feelings of old age when we long to let in the ‘loved’ ones to visit us through ‘the hidden serpentine tracks.’ The ‘gate-keeper’s call’ may anticipate the hinge of the door into the next world as we read in the poem ‘from Seven Earth Odes, V, The Words’ (p.70). this is the final stage of life ‘when yearning’s exhausted.’