Carpet-Weavers, Morocco
Carol Rumens
By
Marium Saud Japanwala
Rumens, through the title of her poem is portraying a scene in Morocco, consisting of carpet weavers. This establishes a theme of work which runs throughout the poem. The title however, does not launch or even give a faint idea of the major theme contained in the poem, i.e. of social injustice and child labour.
The poem begins with 'The children', hence taking us by surprise. Nowhere in the title was anything about children expected, the natural imagery created had been of workers weaving carpets who had naturally been assumed as adults. Nevertheless, the poem starts with these gifts of God, startling us into the reality that the poem is about these intimate pure creations. The first line of this stanza implies that these children are hard at work on the 'loom' used to create the carpets. On the other hand it precedes the words 'another world', which could change the meaning aroused by 'loom' into that which is on the verge of, hence implying that the children were right around the corner of another world.
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Children at N.Y. Zoo (LOC)The 'another world' here is denoting the difference in the life of these children to other normal children, signifying their harsh lifestyles. The word 'loom' can also be visibly rhymed with the word gloom, thus pointing towards the glum atmosphere of these children. Their hair is shaped into 'braids' show that they have been twisted and trapped into this situation from where it is quite difficult to unravel themselves. These braids are 'black' and 'oiled'. This shows that they have been seeped and covered with burdens, because of which their lives have become 'black', i.e. darkened and glum. Still their 'dresses' are 'bright', which points towards their childish character, implying that they may not be...