The Gift in Wartime
I offer you roses
Buried in your new grave
I offer you my wedding gown
To cover your tomb still green with grass.
You give me medals
Together with silver stars
And the yellow pips on your badge
Unused and still shining.
I offer you my youth
The days we were still in love
My youth died away
When they told me the bad news.
You give me the smell of blood
From your war dress
Your blood and your enemy’s
So that I may be moved.
I offer you clouds
That linger on my eyes on summer days
I offer you cold winters
Amid my springtime of life.
You give me your lips with no smile
You give me your arms without tenderness
You give me your eyes with no sight
And your motionless body.
Seriously, I apologize to you
I promise to meet you in our next life
I will hold this shrapnel as a token
By which we will recognize each other.
Nepali Language Translation
म तिमीलाई गुलाब दिन्छु
तिम्रो नयाँ चिहानमा गाडियो
म तिमीलाई मेरो विवाहको गाउन प्रस्ताव गर्छु
तिम्रो चिहान अझै हरियो घाँसले छोप्न।
मलाई पदक दिनुहोस्
चाँदीका ताराहरू सँगसँगै
र तपाईंको ब्याजमा पहेंलो पिप्स
प्रयोग नगरिएको र अझै चम्किरहेको।
म तिमीलाई मेरो जवानी प्रस्ताव गर्दछु
जुन दिन हामी अझै प्रेममा थियौं
मेरो जवानीको मृत्यु भयो
जब तिनीहरूले मलाई नराम्रो खबर सुनाए।
तिमीले मलाई रगतको सुगन्ध दियौ
तिम्रो युद्ध पोशाकबाट
तिम्रो रगत र तिम्रो शत्रुको
ताकि म सार्न सकूँ।
म तिमीलाई बादल प्रस्ताव गर्छु
गर्मीका दिनहरूमा त्यो मेरो आँखामा रहिरहन्छ
म तपाईंलाई चिसो जाडो प्रस्ताव गर्दछु
मेरो जीवनको वसन्तको बीचमा।
तिमीले मलाई आफ्नो ओठ बिना मुस्कान दियौ
तिमीले मलाई आफ्नो कोमलता बिना आफ्नो हात दिनुहोस्
तिमीले मलाई बिना दृष्टि दियौ
अनि तिम्रो गतिहीन शरीर।
गम्भीरतापूर्वक, म तपाईसँग माफी चाहन्छु
म तिमीलाई हाम्रो अर्को जीवनमा भेट्ने वाचा गर्छु
म यो छर्रेलाई टोकनको रूपमा समात्नेछु
जसबाट हामी एकअर्कालाई चिन्नेछौं।
SUMMRAY OF POEM
The first stanza of this poem begins with the speaker offering someone—an unnamed “you”— roses and a wedding gown. In the second stanza, this “you” replies by giving the speaker medals, silver stars, and a badge. These items appear to be less meaningful and personal than the items that the speaker offers.
This pattern—where the speaker gives away much more than the “you”—continues throughout the poem. In the third stanza, the speaker offers their youth. In return, the “you” gives them the “smell of blood.” Indeed, as the poem unfolds, it appears as if the speaker’s offerings become more abstract, while the offerings of the “you” become more violent and indifferent. In the fifth stanza, the speaker gives the “you” clouds and a sacrifice. They sacrifice their pleasant “springtime” for the harshness of “cold winters.” Yet the “you” remains unmoved by these offerings. The “you” gives the speaker “lips with no smile” and “arms without tenderness.” dead.
In the final stanza, the violence of the “you” is further clarified when the speaker mentions the “shrapnel”—that is, bomb fragments—that the “you” has given them. Taking this summary into consideration, it seems that Tran Mong Tu’s poem is mainly telling about all of the things that a victim of war is forced to give up. Perhaps the “you” in the poem is war itself. That might be why the “you” reacts to the speaker’s offerings with a mix of violence and indifference.
BOOK EXERCISE
Understanding the text
Answer the following questions.
a. Who is the speaker addressing and why can that person not hear or understand what she is saying?
Answer : The speaker is addressing her deceased loved one, who cannot hear or understand her because they are dead.
b. What can you infer about the speaker’s feelings for the person addressed as “you”?
Answer : The speaker feels deep affection and sorrow for the person, mourning their loss and the impact on her life.
c. What is the speaker’s attitude toward war?
Answer : The speaker is critical of war, viewing it as destructive and impersonal compared to the personal loss and sacrifice it causes.
d. In what ways do you think this person’s fate has affected the speaker?
Answer : The speaker’s fate is marked by intense grief and emotional emptiness due to the loss of her loved one in war.
e. What does the speaker promise at the end of the poem? Why do you think the speaker does this?
Answer : The speaker does not make a direct promise but contrasts her personal offerings with the impersonal symbols of war, highlighting the disparity between personal loss and military honors. This emphasizes her mourning and disillusionment.
Reference to the context
a. What is the theme of the poem?
Answer : The theme of the poem is the profound sorrow and disillusionment caused by war. It contrasts the personal sacrifices made by the speaker with the impersonal honors given to the deceased, highlighting the emotional cost of conflict and the inadequacy of war’s recognition in the face of personal grief.
b. What imagery from the poem made the greatest impression on you? Why?
Answer : The imagery of “a lifeless body” and “the smell of blood” made a strong impression. This stark and visceral imagery vividly conveys the harsh reality of war and the deep, personal impact of losing a loved one, contrasting sharply with the more sentimental offerings the speaker presents.
c. Which figurative language is used in the poem? Explain with examples.
Answer : – Metaphor: The speaker’s offerings (roses, a wedding gown) and the recipient’s gifts (medals, blood) serve as metaphors for the contrasts between personal sacrifice and wartime honors.
– Symbolism: The items mentioned symbolize deeper emotional truths. For example, the “wedding gown” symbolizes love and life plans, while “blood” represents the violence and death of war.
– Contrast: The poem uses contrast to highlight the disparity between what is given and what is received, such as between “youth” and “a motionless body.”
d. What does the speaker “offer” in this poem? What does the person addressed as “you” give in return?
Answer : The speaker offers symbols of love, youth, and life: roses, a wedding gown, and memories of their time together. In return, the deceased person gives impersonal symbols of war: medals, blood, and a lifeless body, which are cold comforts compared to the speaker’s personal sacrifices.
e. An apostrophe is a literary device in which a writer or speaker addresses an absent person or an abstract idea in such a way as if it were present and can understand. Discuss the poem in relation to apostrophe.
Answer : The poem employs apostrophe as the speaker directly addresses her deceased loved one, who cannot respond or hear her. By speaking to the absent person as though they could understand, the speaker conveys her deep grief and the emotional gap between the personal loss she feels and the impersonal nature of the war’s honors. This device highlights the profound sense of absence and the emotional impact of the loved one’s death.
Reference beyond the text
a. One way to get relief from grief is to write or talk about it. In your opinion, how might the speaker in this poem have benefitted from saying what she did? Explain.
Answer : The speaker in the poem could benefit from expressing her grief and emotions by giving voice to her deep sorrow and sense of loss. Articulating her feelings allows her to process and externalize her pain, providing a form of emotional release and self-validation. Writing or talking about her grief helps to confront the reality of her loss and make sense of the emotional turmoil caused by the death of her loved one. It also creates a space for her to reflect on the contrasts between personal sacrifice and the impersonal nature of wartime honors, which can be a step toward finding some form of closure or understanding. Additionally, sharing her experience through poetry can offer solace and empathy to others who have faced similar losses, creating a sense of connection and shared humanity.
b. Write an essay on the effects of war.
Answer : Effects of War
The effects of war are widely spread and can be long term or short term. Soldiers experience war differently than civilians, although either suffer in times of war, and women and children suffer unspeakable atrocities in particular. In the past decade, up to two million of those killed in armed conflicts were children. The widespread trauma caused by these atrocities and suffering of the civilian population is another legacy of these conflicts, the following creates extensive emotional and psychological stress. Present-day internal wars generally take a larger toll on civilians than state wars. This is due to the increasing trend where combatants have made targeting civilians a strategic objective. A state conflict is an armed conflict that occurs with the use of armed force between two parties, of which one is the government of a state. “The three problems posed by intra‐state conflict are the willingness of UN members, particularly the strongest member, to intervene; the structural ability of the UN to respond; and whether the traditional principles of peacekeeping should be applied to intra‐state conflict”. Effects of war also include mass destruction of cities and have long lasting effects on a country’s economy. Armed conflict has important indirect negative consequences on infrastructure, public health provision, and social order. These indirect consequences are often overlooked and unappreciated.
