A small beam slips through the blinds
Slowly dreams return, remind.
Looking towards the future, they
(are) translations and undefined.
Life’s in muddled signs, designs.
One minute idea pines.
To uncertainty it falls, unwinds.
I am nothing (but) flimsy clay.
A small beam slips through the blinds.
All falls into place as by design,
(just) mind life’s path, all predefined.
(I) hope my future, still in grey,
will inspire the world one day.
(But) swiftly (of) life- it reminds.
A small beam slips through the blinds.
“A Small Beam” is a rondeau organized in trochaic trimeter; the poem also follows a specific rhyme scheme: Aabba aabA aabbaA. By utilizing an unusual syntax, the poem is forced to be read in a certain manner that the poet had originally intended. For example, line 2 is not grammatically accurate; however, the sentence structure aids in creating a specific rhythm and rhyme. Apart from that, the adoption of hopeful imagery and sensory words in the first stanza assist in creating an optimistic and whimsical atmosphere as the poet dreams of the future endeavors that await. This mood changes as the poem moves forward and other sensory words are utilized. The poet also employs a metaphor in line 8, where she associates herself with “flimsy clay.” This comparison highlights the undeveloped nature of the poet; it emphasizes the fact that the poet is not molded into a stiff mindset and outlook yet. It also symbolizes a dream that is crushed under the burden of reality. Along with figurative language, the poem also employs enjambment from lines 3-4. This usage of enjambment, in a way, highlights and creates a focus on the word “they,” which is associated with the poet’s dreams, and emphasizes the line that follows, where the nature of the dreams is described.
Th peom explores the nature of hope in relation to the future. The first stanza connects hope to light – it inevitably seeps through the blinds in a way that suggests that hope often takes the form of a quiet thought. Light is often associated with foresight – lighting the path into the future. The light, to the speaker, seems to be a way to make sense of life’s “muddled signs, designs.” The tone subtly changes as the poem goes on. The second stanza adopts a darker perspective and suggests that ultimately, some hopes will die as the future unfolds. In this case, the “flimsy clay” is a symbol for a hope, or dream, that has crumbled under the weight of reality. The poem goes on to conclude in the third stanza that despite the fact that the dreams often do not come to fruition, everything “falls into place by design,” meaning that the course that life takes has already been predetermined. In spite of the fact that the speaker knows that his life will follow its predestined path, he still cannot help but hope that his future “will inspire the world one day.” The poem concludes with the imagery of the light slipping through the blinds yet again, which suggests that hope for the undefined future will always exist, despite the inevitability of life’s eventual course.
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