Raspberry canes - “The Children”
Mark Jarman observes, “The children are hiding among the raspberry canes./They look big to one another, the garden small./Already in their mouths this soft fruit/That lasts so briefly in the supermarket.” The raspberry typifies an ephemeral childhood. The fruit’s taste, which is equivalent to the past, implies that the pleasantness of childhood is fleeting.
The Wall - “The Children”
Jarman explicates, “The gritty wall,/Behind the veil of leaves, is hollow./There are yellow wasps inside it. The children know./They know the wall is hard, although it hums.” The resolute wall denotes the innocence that detaches ecstatic childhood from perplexing adulthood. The hollowness of the wall is parallel to the vacuums that ensue during adulthood. The wall’s hums hint at the impending disintegration that would jerk the children out of their naivety.
Lover - “Five Psalms”
Mark Jarman declares, “Let us think of God as a lover/ Who never calls,/Whose pleasure in us is aroused/ In unrepeatable ways.” This psalm characterizes God as a non-bothersome lover for he does not nag his people with interminable calls. Also, the poem hints at God’s changeableness; which necessitates allegiance from his people to rouse him unceasingly through varied devotional acts.
Towers - “Easy Sermon”
Jarman recommends, “when towers are falling/And muezzins are calling,/It is simple to kneel and pray.” The metaphorical towers refer to the mammoth, adverse occurrences in life that necessitate perpetual prayers. Prayers may initiate marvels by forestalling the continued downfall of the towers.
