does anyone know have any interpretation about this poem? rhythm, rhyme, ideas, metaphores, simile, anything?? thank you

I haven't read it. Can you type it up?

Here it is:


We’re not together anymore.
After Bobby Baxter followed us home,
Drank our pop and ate our mini pork pies
(he had five) our whole life

Changed. We kept him in our room
Upstairs; taught him our special tongue,
Watched him flash up on television.
Missing three days, four days, six, seven.

On the last day at ninety degrees Fahrenheit,
Robert James Baxter looked out our high window
And waved. He had been warned. Bad Bobby.
And some ugly nosy Parker looked

Up, some pain-in-the neck village golfer.
Putt Putt Putt. 999. A hole in one.
Next thing: the policeman at our door;
Our mum there in her brassiere,

The loose language of gin, opening
And closing her mouth; her eyes narrow
And fierce as a bird’s; a seagull’s fury,
Calling us down, calling us down,

Hannah and Helen. Never Helen and Hannah,
We dressed in the same black patent leather
Shoes, shining like mirrors. Our checked
Gingham dress, its pink and green squares.

Our jet black hair parted in the same centre;
Our east-coast identical accents, well spoken.
The village plodder held the picture in the air.
‘Have you seen this boy?’

‘No Sir.’ We said together. Pause. ‘No Sir.’
Big boys in blue searched our room,
But Bobby Baxter, beautiful Bobby Baxter,
Wasn’t found till five days later.

Makes me think of that song "Angie"

does anyone know have any interpretation about this poem? rhythm,
rhyme, ideas, metaphores, simile, anything?? thank you

Thanks for typing that up. Jackie Kay is contemporary, so we really should have permission from her before posting copyrighted material, but perhaps we will be forgiven since the purpose is to study her work.

[www.contemporarywriters.com] />
Sounds to me like Helen and Hannah decided to take Bobby Baxter home with them, much like one would do with a lost dog or cat. Goldfish, sure. Unfortunately, Bobby managed to get seen from a window, so he had to be eliminated. Also understandable.

The rhythm is 'free verse', meaning it has no consistent rhythm, but should flow well off the tongue when spoken. Eight four-line stanzas; some lines end-stopped, some with enjambment (run-on).

Metaphors would include "The loose language of gin", meaning she was slurring her words, and "The village plodder" meaning the, uh, bobby.

Similes (usually) have the word 'as' or 'like' in them, comparing one thing to another, so see if you can find more than just the shoes shining like mirrors example.

British poem. 999 is the number you call for the emergency services, the equivalent of the American 911.

Village plodder = police constable, as in Mr Plod the Policeman in Noddy books and Happy Family cards.

Geez---

this poem reminds me of ET
except it's pretty creepy.

I'm not sure what the poet is getting at---did they kill him
or dress him up like a girl?

Gives me the creeps.

Lisa

I think they killed him. They seem to be a pair of those very close identical twins who make up a private language and act in unison.

We’re not together anymore.

Separate mental hospitals/prisons, one infers.

Perhaps, like Frost's 'Out, Out'. it was based on a true incident, but not one I can recall.

I am trying to get to the bottom of this poem and I must admitt that it is quite difficult. Would this have anything to do with the murder of Jamie Bulger ? Any fresh ideas on metaphores, similes, aliterations etc...?

trying to get to the bottom of this poem and must admit that it is quite difficult. Would this have anything to do with murder of Jamie Bulger ? Any fresh ideas on metaphores, similes, aliterations etc...?

I am impressed at you poets expertise! Nice job analyzing this.

There's some information about Jackie Kay here:-
[www.humboldt.edu]

He had been warned. Bad Bobby.

Chilling.

pam

anything to do with the murder of Jamie Bulger?

[www.breakthechain.org] />
Doesn't sound like it to me. If the poem were written before 1993, then it could not have been. Looks like it appeared in Other Lovers, published in 1993, so more unlikely. I guess you could contact the publisher (Bloodaxe) and have them ask the author, though.

[tinyurl.com]

If we're looking for real murderers as inspiration of the poem , there's the Mary Bell case in the 60's

MUCH closer, yes:

[tinyurl.com] />
Speaking of Mary Bell:


Little Mary Bell had a Fairy in a nut,
Long John Brown had the Devil in his gut;
Long John Brown lov'd little Mary Bell,
And the Fairy drew the Devil into the nutshell.

Her Fairy skipp'd out and her Fairy skipp'd in;
He laugh'd at the Devil, saying `Love is a sin.'
The Devil he raged, and the Devil he was wroth,
And the Devil enter'd into the young man's broth.

He was soon in the gut of the loving young swain,
For John ate and drank to drive away love's pain;
But all he could do he grew thinner and thinner,
Tho' he ate and drank as much as ten men for his dinner.

Some said he had a wolf in his stomach day and night,
Some said he had the Devil, and they guess'd right;
The Fairy skipp'd about in his glory, joy and pride,
And he laugh'd at the Devil till poor John Brown died.

Then the Fairy skipp'd out of the old nutshell,
And woe and alack for pretty Mary Bell!
For the Devil crept in when the Fairy skipp'd out,
And there goes Miss Bell with her fusty old nut.
--William Blake

Hello Christie and Eric et al

Anyone typing in "jackie kay" "pork pies" into google finds this page as the first "hit" (or basically the only hit that isn't on Amazon).

Beware relying on the info too much here for any possible "ECA" you might be writing ... the OU have a very bad view of plagarism - by all means discuss the essay here, but don't copy out anything word for word (or fiddle around with the odd word) - as I'm sure it would get noticed. The 30 quid won't arrive either...! :-)


Good luck - but you may well have handed it in already....