SAD I AMS

SAD I AMS BY TREVOR MILLUM

I am
the ring
from an empty Cola can
the scrapings
from an unwashed porridge pan
the severed arm
of last year’s Action Man.

I am
the envelope
on which the gum is gone
the Sellotape
where you can’t find the end
the toothless stapler, springless bulldog clip
the dried-up liquid paper
that mars instead of mends
the stamped addressed reply
that you forgot
to send.

I am
the battery in which no charge is left
the starter motor which remains inert
the tyre on which the tread is worn
the sparking plug which shows no sign of spark
the carburettor choked by bits of dirt
the chromium trim from which the shine has gone.

I am
a garden
overgrown with weeds
a library book
that no one ever reads
a stray
which no one thinks to feed
the piece of good advice
which no one seems to need.

TREVOR MILLUM

PRE-LESSON

WHAT TO DO? – STEP BY STEP

1. Refer to your textbook “Poetry for Pleasure” page 9 -10.
2. Read, copy the poem in your LITERATURE BOOK and try to understand the poem.
4. Then, get the Dictionaries, Pencil and Coloured pencils ready.
5. First, find the meaning of words that you don’t understand and write it down in your BOOK. Then, guess the meaning of each stanza
6. Next, draw and colour all the items mentioned in the poem

EXAMPLES FROM 1 LILY STUDENTS (CLASS OF 2020)

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You can watch the video and read the notes below to further understand the poem.

NOTES

It’s a simple 4 stanza poem with different number of lines for each stanza. It has a rhyming pattern for each stanza. It also uses a lot of descriptive words (adjectives) in the poem. The main idea of this poem is about things in our life that have ‘been discarded or neglected’.

MEANING OF THE POEM.

STANZA 1

The persona identifies himself with seemingly trivial and random objects like a ring of a Cola can or the scrapings of an unwashed porridge pan or even the broken arm of an action figure toy. Well, it shows that sometimes you get the feeling that your life is going nowhere and you feel insignificant and unimportant.

STANZA 2

In the second stanza, the persona uses stationery. The man further describes even more trivial objects to identify with like a tape with no end or an envelope that has lost its sticky seal. In our depressed state, our minds starts to wander over petty things and make us feel useless and dispensable.

STANZA 3

He says that he is like the parts of an assuming junk car where the battery is dead and the motor cannot be started. Then, he says he is like a tyre with worn out treads, among other things. It shows that if we are not careful, this sort of mentality and negativity can consume us, leaving us alone and troubled. We should seek help and advice for this state so that we can move on with life with better motivation.

STANZA 4

In the last stanza, he goes back to random things again as if to say he was being ignored to the utmost extreme like the weeds in a garden or a stray animal. He also added in the ‘good advice’ element which may seem wanted and useful but it was also discarded. Figuratively, no one is an island and whether we choose to believe it or not, there are people who care about us and who have not forgotten us.

TONE AND MOOD

Gloomy and sad

THEMES

1. SADNESS
   The title of the poem indicates the persona is sad. Then, he likens himself to objects that no one would care about. It sounds as though the persona is going through some major depression issues or he could be giving a ‘voice’ to the neglected objects saying they are feeling sad for being forgotten.
   
2. REJECTION
   The persona feels that he/she is not wanted by anyone. They compare themselves to many unwanted things like the broken action man, toothless stapler, springless bulldog clip, worn tyre, etc.
   
3. LACK OF APPRECIATION
   People do not appreciate the things that are once useful for them. People do not try to fix their toy, they do not make the chromium trim shine again, they do not clean their garden, they do not read the books in the library. More importantly, they do not listen to other people’s advice.

MORAL VALUES

1. We should only buy things that we need and donate more often of the things that we no longer use but still are in good conditions.
2. We should appreciate things that we own and don’t just dispose them when they are old.
3. We have to be responsible for the things that we own. Don’t be so quick in throwing away old stuff.

EXERCISE

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING BY ANSWERING THESE QUESTIONS:

1. Why are there still scrapings in the porridge pan?
2. What has happened to the Action man’s hand?
3. Why can’t the envelope be sealed in the poem?
4. What does a dried-up liquid paper do?
5. What is the main object in stanza 3?
6. What does the word ‘inert’ mean in the stanza?
7. What does a stray usually mean?
8. If you were the persona, what object would you like to be? Why?
9. Would you throw away something which has lost its use? Why?
10. If you see your friend in such depressed state, what would you do? Why?

With Love,
Teacher Tasha