Blessing
Imtiaz Dharker
The skin cracks like a pod.
There never is enough water.
Imagine the drip of it,
the small splash, echo
in a tin mug,
the voice of a kindly god.
Sometimes, the sudden rush
of fortune. The municipal pipe bursts,
silver crashes to the ground
and the flow has found
a roar of tongues. From the huts,
a congregation: every man woman
child for streets around
butts in, with pots,
brass, copper, aluminium,
plastic buckets,
frantic hands,
and naked children
screaming in the liquid sun,
their highlights polished to perfection,
flashing light,
as the blessing sings
over their small bones.

Why do you think the poet has called the poem ‘Blessing’?

In what kind of place is the poem set? Find two quotes to support your answer and explain in your own words.

How is the water described? Find two quotes to support your answer and explain in your own words.

Onomatopoeia is used in this poem. Find an example and explain the effect of the word used.

How do the adults respond when the pipe bursts?

How do the children respond when the pipe bursts?

Why do you think the poem is structured the way it is? Why does the poet choose to include stanzas where she has?

Using PEE write a paragraph to answer this question:

How does the poet use language to give the impression that water is really important to the people of the village?