His nature of mind never contemplated idleness.
In the tillings of his soil, you will find eagerness.
His faithful promises, he bled to keep,
Through the bruising of his hands; but mother earth was foiled and non-fulfilling.
In the hopeless looks and dreaded request, he broke.
Through sullen sobs and rhythmic cramps; he communed faithfully with his resting fathers.
His creations had been his destruction.
He failed them. His father was the first.
Now the baton of wreck is placed on my brittled hands.
The chorus of the wailing babies are now my morning worship and evening sermons.
Their Melodies of maladies and distress
Are the constant reminder of his digress.
I have seen and heard, yet not learnt.
It is a cycle of doom waiting in earnest
My hope and best I vowed the choirs.
Yet in these lines, I died.
Analysis
The poem is a mournful poem about the cruel and hardships of life. It explains man's insatiable desire to overcome his demons of temptation and reign over it.
However, his strength could not go as large as life is. He tried so hard amidst strenuous efforts to stand tall over his temptation yet to no avail.
Stanza One, line 1 and 2
His nature of mind never contemplated idleness.
In the tillings of his soil, you will find eagerness.
His faithful promises, he bled to keep,
Through the bruising of his hands; but mother earth was foiled and non-fulfilling.
This explains the first generation of man in his society. With total eagerness to live about laziness and idleness. In this line you will understand that there was a sincere desire to give value and not stay useless.
Now one could see as man advances. In life there were creation of beings who were the extension of himself. They were born of his might and strength of his wife. He desire now is shifted to these children to give them a better life even though it will cause him great discomfort and sacrifices.
However, one could see that despite his strong willed spirit to give his kids a rewarding life, the natures of the world makes his efforts all be in futility.
Stanza Two Line 1-4
In the hopeless looks and dreaded request, he broke.
Through sullen sobs and rhythmic cramps; he communed faithfully with his resting fathers.
His creations had been his destruction.
He failed them. His father was the first.
Now things are growing harder for man and the reward for his efforts are in constant negative.
The children are now being filled with hunger cramps. He never wanted such for the beings he brought into the world.
It broke him, and when it heighten, he felt that instead of him to live and see the pains and suffering in the eyes of these children, it is better he died in peace.
It was indeed never the life he had contemplated for them. Quite evident of the failure he is. As also he likened himself to his own father, who disappointed him by bringing up in such hideous and browbeaten circumstances.
Stanza 3 line 1-4
Now the baton of wreck is placed on my brittled hands.
The chorus of the wailing babies are now my morning worship and evening sermons.
Their Melodies of maladies and distress
Are the constant reminder of his digress
The Author for better feel of the poem used the first person narrative in this stanza. He introduced another generation of man who took over from his own father the problems and inherited it without the option of having a choice.
The second generation man we see is young and not ready for the pants of life. He was feeble with lack of experience of how to handle the liabilities of the first generation man.
The little cramps of hunger from the children that killed the first generation man has advanced to crying which the writer akined to morning worship and evening sermons.
The second generation man was shaken, is little self confidence of he gained in life has been dented by the uncertainty of what life holds.
Stanza Four 1-4
I have seen and heard, yet not learnt.
It is a cycle of doom waiting in earnest
My hope and best I vowed the choirs.
Yet in these lines, I died.
