Grandpa by Paul Chidyausiko
Grandpa
1 They say they are healthier than me
Though they can’t walk to the end of a mile
At their age I walked forty at night
To wage a battle at dawn.
2 They think they are healthier than me:
If their socks get wet they catch a cold;
When my sockless feet got wet, I never sneezed –
But they still think they are healthier than me.
3 On a soft mattress over a spring bed,
They still have to take a sleeping-pill;
But I, with reeds cutting into my ribs,
My head resting on a piece of wood,
I sleep like a babe and snore.
4 They blow their noses and pocket the stuff –
That’s hygienic so they tell me;
I blow my nose into the fire,
But they say that is barbaric.
5 If a dear one dies I weep without shame;
If someone jokes, I laugh with all my heart.
They stifle a tear as if to cry was something wrong.
But they also stifle a laugh,
As if to laugh was something wrong too.
No wonder they need psychiatrists!
6 When I have more than one wife
They tell me that hell is my destination,
But when they have one and countless mistresses,
They pride themselves on cheating the world!
7 No, let them learn to be honest with themselves first
Before they persuade me to change my ways,
Says my grandfather, the proud old man.
Analysis of the Poem
In this poem the speaker, a grandfather, is defending his traditions against the criticism of young people. The younger generation looks down on old traditions. The younger generation look down on old people, in general. The message that the poet wants to convey is that the younger generation should not look down on or scorn tradition, but respect tradition and the wisdom that comes with age. The message that the poet wants to convey is referred to as the theme of a poem. The grandfather is pictured as a wise and proud man who had experienced a lot in his lifetime: he took part in battles, he slept in the open, he lost people close to him.
1 They say they are healthier than me
2 Though they can’t walk to the end of a mile
3 At their age I walked forty at night
4 To wage a battle at dawn.
Line 1: 'They' refers to the younger generation/younger people. 'Me' refers to the grandpa.
Lines 2 - 3: The grandpa says that the younger generation is too unfit and lazy to walk a mile, but when he was their age, he could walk 40 miles in one night.
Line 4: 'To wage a battle' could mean that when he was their age he had to fight in a war. 'dawn' is daybreak.
5 They think they are healthier than me:
6 If their socks get wet they catch a cold;
7 When my sockless feet got wet, I never sneezed –
8 But they still think they are healthier than me.
Lines 5 - 6: They (young people) think they are healthier than older people, but they get ill very easily 'if their socks get wet they catch a cold;'
Lines 7 - 8: The grandpa could walk barefoot and he never got sick - 'I never sneezed' - but still younger people think they are superior/healthier than the older generation.
9 On a soft mattress over a spring bed,
10 They still have to take a sleeping-pill;
11 But I, with reeds cutting into my ribs,
12 My head resting on a piece of wood,
13 I sleep like a babe and snore.
Lines 9 - 10: The younger generation sleep on soft mattresses and beds with springs, but yet they are still so 'weak' and spoiled that they
need to take a sleeping pill to sleep.
Lines 11 - 12: Grandpa slept outside on the ground - 'reeds' (grass) cutting into my ribs', and his only pillow was a piece of wood.
Line 13: SIMILE: 'I sleep like a babe and snore.' - he compares the way he sleeps to a sleeping baby. To 'sleep like a baby' - To experience a very deep and restful sleep; to sleep soundly. He sleeps so well, he even snores! The grandfather compares the way in which he sleeps in seemingly uncomfortable circumstances, to the way in which a baby sleeps. This type of comparison ( the words “like” and “as” are used) in poetry is called a simile.
14 They blow their noses and pocket the stuff –
15 That’s hygienic so they tell me;
16 I blow my nose into the fire,
17 But they say that is barbaric.
Lines 14 - 15: The younger generation uses handkerchiefs - they blow their noses into handkerchiefs and then place the handkerchiefs back in their pockets. And they think THAT is civilised and hygienic! 'That's hygienic so they tell me;' - SARCASM
Lines 16 - 17: The traditional way of blowing your nose into the fire (like grandpa does) is 'barbaric' according to the younger generation.
18 If a dear one dies I weep without shame;
19 If someone jokes, I laugh with all my heart.
20 They stifle a tear as if to cry was something wrong.
21 But they also stifle a laugh,
22 As if to laugh was something wrong too.
23 No wonder they need psychiatrists!
Lines 18 - 19: The older generation is not ashamed to laugh or cry. The grandfather says that when someone that the loves, dies, he weeps without trying to hide his hurt. In the same way, he laughs when something is funny – in other words, he does not hide his emotions.
Lines 20 - 22: The younger generation, however, keep in their tears and hide their hurt as if it is something to feel ashamed of. They also laugh in a constrained way/they are too cool to laugh. The grandfather is telling us that they have lost their spontaneity.
Line 23: That is, of course, the reason they need psychiatrists. Psychiatrists are doctors that assist people with emotional problems. The grandfather clearly feels that modern people would have fewer problems if they show their hurt and joy to the rest of the world and not act as if they should be ashamed of their feelings.
24 When I have more than one wife
25 They tell me that hell is my destination,
26 But when they have one and countless mistresses,
27 They pride themselves on cheating the world!
Lines 24 - 25: The grandfather practices polygamy, in other words, he has more than one wife. The young people remind him that his soul will end up in hell because of that.
Lines 26 - 27: The grandfather, cannot understand why young men marry one wife and then keep a lot of mistresses, in other words they cheat on their wives and are proud when they get away with it. The grandfather cannot understand this, because traditionally he would marry all his wives for the whole world to see – he does not cheat or lie.
28 No, let them learn to be honest with themselves first
29 Before they persuade me to change my ways,
30 Says my grandfather, the proud old man.
Line 28: He thinks young people who scorn his traditions must first do some Introspection/they must have a look at their own ways: 'be honest with themselves first'.
Line 29: The grandfather is determined: he will not be persuaded (talked over) to change his way of doing things.
Line 30: The speaker in the last stanza is the grandchild: “Says my grandfather …” He reminds us that his grandfather takes pride in his tradition.
TYPE OF POEM
This is a modern poem or free verse:
1. The poem has no fixed rhyme scheme and
2. The lines are not equally long
TONE
You will soon know what the tone of a poem is when you imagine what the person
sounds like when he speaks these lines. We can easily imagine that the grandpa
is upset with the younger generation and does not think much of their ideas.
So we may say that the tone of this poem is mocking, contemptuous or scornful,
sometimes even sarcastic.