Here is the link to Poem by Barolong Seboni.

‘Poem’ seems a strange, almost unoriginal title for a poem, doesn’t it? But as you read this poem, you realise that the poet didn’t want to define his poem in any way – because his poem is itself about words!

The first part of the poem is about words and their negative impact on relationships. In the first four stanzas the speaker expresses rejection of the hurtful and destructive words that seem to be so casually thrown about. Then the last two stanzas describe how we should use words gently, kindly, or perhaps even not use them at all and let our ‘smiles’ do the talking.

Notice how the structure of the stanzas reflect the content. The first stanzas reflect the overwhelming deluge of negative words as the lines are uneven and consist of one continuous sentence that ends on an ellipsis at the end of the 4th stanza.

The last two stanzas are more flowing, and reflect the calmer, more positive tone of this part of the poem. Each stanza consists of a full sentence which ends on a full stop.

So, from the beginning: the poem starts with the word ‘We’ showing that he is including himself and the other person (his ‘love’) in what he is saying. This personal pronoun, by extension, also includes the reader too. He says emphatically ‘we do not need’ – and then explains what we do not need: We do not neeed ‘jaggered words’. ‘Jaggered’ means sharp and rough. The speaker is comparing the hurtful words they use to each other to sharp objects that cause physical pain and injury. These words, he says, ‘dig a trench between us’. Here these hurtful words are personified as people who dig ditches to create barriers between each other. Trenches are associated with wars as soldiers use them during a battle to create a barrier against their enemies.

We also do not need ‘epithets’ that hurt. ‘Epithets’ are short phrases used to either praise or criticise someone. In this poem, the speaker is using this word in a negative way as it means to insult someone. They are ‘sharp like spokes’. This simile compares the harsh words they say to each other to ‘spokes’. Spokes are thin metal bars, most often used in the wheel of a bicycle. They are sharp and can be used to stab someone. He then continues this comparison, saying that these spokes do, ‘pierce the heart when spoken’. The heart is seen as the emotional centre of a person so the sharp words seem to stab the heart and cause emotional death.

Notice the alliteration of the ‘s’ sound in these lines (in combination with ‘p’ sounds) emphasising the continuous harsh damage caused by these hurtful words. Again, the words are personified as a person who chooses to stab someone’s heart.

In the line ‘there is no room in my cup’ the speaker uses a metaphor to show that he has no space in his life or in his soul for these angry words. His ‘cup’ is compared to his daily life. He continues with a metaphor by comparing words to acid – ‘acidic words of sarcasm’ – that ‘corrode my sensitivity’. Acid is a very destructive chemical that eats away at metal. Here, these sarcastic hurtful words are eating away at the speaker’s sense of self. It is destroying any love and hope there may be in their relationship.

In the final negative stanza, the speaker continues with metaphors of the destruction of the words or ‘terms’ that are used. They are ‘cold and icy’ and they are ‘tossed/ to deaden the heart’. The word ‘tossed’ means ‘casually thrown’ and this shows that the hateful words are chosen without care about the pain and destruction that they cause the heart. In fact, their destruction is so bad that they are killing the heart.

The speaker moves on to compare these bitter and harmful words to a snake in the metaphor ‘venomous words / from your serpentine tongue’. ‘Venomous’ is poisonous and ‘serpentine tongue’ references the deadly damage caused by a snake bite. The final line of this stanza, ‘that infect the feeling….’ reinforces the contamination (think of the word ‘infection’) of his feelings for the other person.

The ellipsis (dot dot dot …) here is a pause for thought and indicates that there will be a change in tone in the next part of the poem.

In the next stanza the tone changes: the speaker talks directly to his lover: ‘Let us speak, love’. He suggests that they speak to each other using ‘gentler tones’. His own tone in these lines is also gentle. He asks that these ‘tones’ be ‘timid as the lamb / is soft’. ‘Timid’ means ‘shy’ in this context. In other words, they should be careful or shy to hurt each other just as a lamb is shy or careful of its surroundings. Lambs are often symbolic of vulnerability and love in religion. The speaker asks that they use ‘woolly words’, words that are warm and protective, as clothing made of wool keeps us warm during the bitter cold that he mentions at the end of the previous stanza. To emphasise his gentler approach, the speaker uses alliteration of the ‘w’ and ‘s’ sounds to give these lines a softer, more drawn-out effect.

This metaphor, in which words are compared to clothes made of wool, are ‘worn to stand against the / cold-bitterness of the world’ which demonstrates how they can protect each other from hate and bitterness by using ‘gentler tones’. In this metaphor he is also comparing the the ugliness of a harsh world with a very cold winter.

In the final stanza, the poet suggests an even better approach to being caring and loving in the way that they speak to each other. ‘let us search in our speech / for words deep as the soul is still’. Here he is comparing ‘deep’ meaningful words to a soul that is peaceful – ‘still’. The speaker personifies the words as being able to clearly express – ‘spell out’ – each other’s thoughts ‘in the silence of our smiles’. Smiles can be as communicative as words as they convey a positive and caring attitude. In this stanza the alliteration and repetition of the ‘s’ sound gives a peaceful, calming effect.