In the Forest
Savion Cummings
In the forest- Sarojini Naidu
HERE, O my heart, let us burn the dear dreams that are dead,
Here in this wood let us fashion a funeral pyre
Of fallen white petals and leaves that are mellow and red,
Here let us burn them in noon's flaming torches of fire.
We are weary, my heart, we are weary, so long we have borne
The heavy loved burden of dreams that are dead, let us rest,
Let us scatter their ashes away, for a while let us mourn;
We will rest, O my heart, till the shadows are gray in the west.
But soon we must rise, O my heart, we must wander again
Into the war of the world and the strife of the throng;
Let us rise, O my heart, let us gather the dreams that remain,
We will conquer the sorrow of life with the sorrow of song.
Here in this wood let us fashion a funeral pyre
Of fallen white petals and leaves that are mellow and red,
Here let us burn them in noon's flaming torches of fire.
We are weary, my heart, we are weary, so long we have borne
The heavy loved burden of dreams that are dead, let us rest,
Let us scatter their ashes away, for a while let us mourn;
We will rest, O my heart, till the shadows are gray in the west.
But soon we must rise, O my heart, we must wander again
Into the war of the world and the strife of the throng;
Let us rise, O my heart, let us gather the dreams that remain,
We will conquer the sorrow of life with the sorrow of song.
Literal
This poem is literal about a person who wants to let their pain and sorrow in the forest. The speaker claims that they have dreams that are dead, "The heavy loved burden of dreams that are dead". The speaker wants to take away all of their sorrow and pain and burn them, "Of fallen white petals and leaves that are mellow and red, Here let us burn them in noon's flaming torches of fire."
Situation
This poem is not a narrative nor does it tell a story, by the context of the lyrics. The speaker of the poem is trying to seek a new start and wants to be able to have a revolution by "let us burn the dear dreams that are dead". It is hard to identify the speaker of the poem as the author because the poem is not a narrative. The mood of the speaker is very one sided, the author seeks for forgiveness and is very inspirational about seeking her forgiveness. The author is one minded throughout the poem.
Structure
The form of the poem has a structure pattern of "ABAB". The movement of the poem has a free association because the poem isn't a narrative. All of the sentences in the poem are simple do to the "ABAB" structure. All of the sentences show subject-verb agreement. Each line always ends with a poetic line, which results in each line an end-stopped line. The poem does contain a enjambment because, there are punctuations in the middle of a line. The title of the poem has a huge comparison to the poem itself. The speaker is seeking forgiveness by using the forest as a guide.
Language
The language and sentences of the poem are very simple. All of the words in the poem are recognizable to me. The burning of the speakers dead dreams can be an mythological allusion;
"let us burn the dear dreams that are dead,
Here in this wood let us fashion a funeral pyre
Of fallen white petals and leaves that are mellow and red,
Here let us burn them in noon's flaming torches of fire"
The poem contains moments of imagery for example;
"Of fallen white petals and leaves that are mellow and red,"
Musical Devices
The author of the poem created a regular rhyme scheme, because the stanza's and lyrics are simple. The pattern of the poem is stressed because the author made the stanza pattern know by making it "ABAB". The poem does not contain any sound effects in any of the lines.