POEMS : THE DEAD CROW

THE DEAD CROW

This is a poem that everyone should read. The theme is pollution of the environment. This, of course, is a subject that we should all be deeply concerned about as we are now feeling the effects of pollution in our badly polluted world.

The poem is set in Malaysia. The poet is very angry because the air is so badly polluted that it can kill even a hardy scavenger* like the crow. The poet feels this pollution is unnecessary. It is a result of development that is being carried out so rapidly that the land is given little or no chance to recover. The earth cannot cope* with all the dangerous gasses produced. It is given little time to filter* out these gasses. Neither can the land replenish* the natural resources and raw materials such as water, trees, oil and minerals used up in development.

The poet is not against development. He only asks that it be carried out at a more controlled rate, so that people and animals would not fall ill or perish* because of unclean air. The poet feels this is possible because the country is blessed with enough resources for the earth to recover if only developers would slow down their work.

The poet accuses* developers of being greedy. They are rushing development because they want to make more money. The faster they develop land, the sooner they can grow rich. The poet is also angry with politicians. He accuses them of not doing their job. They are not taking good care of the people or of the resources of the land.

The poet wants clean air and a fruitful earth for future generations.

· scavenger - (in this context) animal that searches for food at dumpsites

· cope - keep up, handle

· filter - strain, sift

· replenish - refill, put new supplies

· perish - die

· accuses – blames

NOTES and POINTS

· The poet is not against development. He only wants the government to be more responsible and efficient in planning development so that the resources of the land are not depleted and the air is not made unsafe for living things.

· The poet wants greedy and selfish people to stop exploiting the land and its natural resources in order to become rich. He wants the government to look into this problem and take better care of the people and the country, as they are supposed to.