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Brendan Kennelly - Coggle Diagram

- - - - ‘at crying birds in the sudden rain/ at branches stark in the willing sunlight’
      - The repeated 's' sounds here sound wet, like the sudden rain.
    - - ‘Begin to the loneliness that cannot end/ since it perhaps is what makes us begin’
      - This is a very deep, philosophical statement about the forces that drive us in our lives. It is the type of sentence that has many different layers of meaning, and many possible interpretations, despite being so simply constructed.
    - - ‘Begin’
      - This simple word suggests starting something new. You have to 'begin' somewhere
- - - - ‘Whenever you walk smiling though a room/ And your flung golden hair is still wet'
      - This image is effective because of the verbs 'walk', 'smiling' and 'flung", and the adjective 'golden' We can picture movement and beauty and also get a sense of a free spirit with blonde hair, still damp from her bath..
    - - 'an islander at sea'
      - Here Kennelly is comparing himself to an islander at sea, for where would an islander be happier than at sea? This shows us that Kennelly is in his element being a father.
    - - 'the poverty of praise’
      - Here Kennelly uses alliteration to emphasise his inability to articulate how wonderful this girl is to him; his praise is a poor substitute for her greatness.
    - - 'helter-skelter'
      - This compound word suggests chaos and confusion, but also fun and excitement, which in turn perfectly captures fatherhood.
    - - ‘leaf-argosies'
      - This suggests an abundance of leaves, as in autumn.
    - - ‘I bless what you remember or forget/ And recognise the poverty of praise.’
      - The 'poverty of praise' is an unusual expression, but it is used in Kerry, where Kennelly grew up.
- - - - ‘Who will bring new flowers/ that will not hang their heads/like tired old people wanting sleep?'
      - This simile compares the heads of wilting flowers to the drooping heads of old people who are falling asleep. It is an effective comparison, because it suggests the former vitality and beauty of old people, while also suggesting they are, like the flowers, dying.
    - - "Why you work so hard, why brush/ and sweep to make a heap of dirt?"
      - Small children often leave out odd words in their sentences. Quoting the child directly makes us trust in the inherent truth of this poem and this is essential for its impact.
    - - 'Do you throw old people out?'
      - This is the kind of perceptive question children can sometimes ask. While it would be nice to immediately answer 'No, we don't throw old people away', the truth is far more complicated. This makes this question uncomfortable and, therefore, thought provoking.
- - - - "I have work to do in Ireland."
      - Every Irish person knows the kind of 'work' the infamous Cromwell did in Ireland, so this short line manages to be very threatening in its connotations, while at the same time being a completely harmless statement.
    - - ‘weep’
      - This word is somehow more powerful than 'cry' as it has connotations of loss and pain, as well as signifying crying.
    - - 'Christblessed'
      - This shows how, when spoken, these two words sound like one.
    - - 'Some weep. Some have cause. Let weep who will.’
- - - - ‘No sooner downstairs after the night's rest/ And in the door/ Than you started to dance a step/ In the middle of the kitchen floor.’
      - Hiberno-English (English as we speak it in Ireland) helps to convey the traditional Irish setting of this poem; 'dance a step' is a particularly Irish way of speaking.
    - - ‘Whatever happens or cannot happen'
      - The repetition here signifies an acceptance of the future and an acknowledgment that, no matter what happens to him, Kennelly will always remember his father
- - - - ‘plover rose/ And scattered, black fragments, crying.’
      - The verbs 'rose' and 'scattered' allow us to picture a flock of plover flying into the air in one black mass and then scattering into tiny black dots in the distance, while the verb 'crying' reveals the sound they make doing so and also conveys the distress of the speaker
    - - ‘And saying so, always for the first time?/ Who was this stranger with the graven face?/ What led to the dreaming-up of a home?'
      - The ending of a relationship can provoke many questions and this makes these questions effective, as they are realistic. They are also very sad, as he sees his former lover as a stranger now, and sees their life together as an impossible dream.