Analysis of Power Cut



“I like to be fat”, the poor Cambodian said, “for fat means power. But at this hour I am poor and lacking things. Not able to pull any strings, nor to make myself a living. Skinny means no one is giving, nothing to expect, easy to reject.”

The poor woman dreamed of a fancy house, sharing it with a big fat spouse, and using a lot of electric power. But at this unhappy hour, she is living in a cheap small flat, together with her skinny cat, and if she tries at night to switch on even the tiniest light, there will be anything but because of the daily power cut.

The peasant child was not a fool. It wanted to go to school to become an English teacher instead of a powerless creature. But its parents being poor, sold it to become a whore. Now being a sodomized slave, it soon will seriously misbehave. Because its anger is growing fast, this ticking bomb will burst at last.

This nation does want to succeed, but is undermined by cruelty and greed. The one hand gives it some power, but the other cracks the flower before it can blossom and multiply. That’s the reason why this nation stays poor and depending on never ending money sending. The powerful still control, and poverty takes its toll.


Scheme X X X X
Poetic Form
Metre 1111101100111110111101110101110111011111010101111101010110101 0110110101101101110100110101011101010111000111010101010111111111001001111101011010101 01011101110111110111010011010010111010111101011100100111110000101110110111011111 1101110111011100101111110101010100111100101010111011001011010101001001010100111
Characters 1,206
Words 225
Sentences 15
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 1, 1, 1, 1
Lines Amount 4
Letters per line (avg) 235
Words per line (avg) 56
Letters per stanza (avg) 235
Words per stanza (avg) 56

About this poem

Written in 2006, when living in Cambodia.

Font size:
 

Submitted by ludy_b on October 23, 2021

Modified by ludy_b on October 23, 2021

1:07 min read
13

Ludy Bührs

The topics she writes about are very diverse, so are the poetry styles she applies. As a Dutch translator and poet, having lived in Cambodia's capital city Phnom Penh for 2.5 years, in 2008 she published "Op de ruïnes van een rijk" (On the Ruins of an Empire) ISBN 978-90-8834-483-1 with 60 poems based on her experiences there. In 2007 she received a Certificate of Accomplishment as one of The Best Poems and Poets of 2007 issued by poetry.com and the International Library of Poetry for her poem Choked Truth, her own translation of "Verstikte waarheid", one of the poems in the book. Born in 1956, she still works as an independent translator, translating from English into Dutch. more…

All Ludy Bührs poems | Ludy Bührs Books

36 fans

Discuss this Ludy Bührs poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Power Cut" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/112592/power-cut>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    June 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    21
    days
    5
    hours
    10
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem is called _______.
    A rhythm
    B verse
    C rhyme
    D meter