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Experience the bittersweet contrast of a Caribbean island man waking up to the sound of the sea in London, captured in Grace Nichols' poignant poem. Immerse yourself in the vivid imagery of his longing for home amidst the urban reality of the city life.
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Island Man (for a Caribbean island man in London who still wakesup to the sound of the sea) Morningand island man wakes upto the sound of blue surfin his headthe steady breaking and wombing wild seabirdsand fishermen pushing out to seathe sun surfacing defiantlyfrom the eastof his small emerald islandhe always comes back groggily groggily Comes back to sandsof a grey metallic soar to surge of wheelsto dull North Circular roar muffling mufflinghis crumpled pillow wavesisland man heaves himself Another London day Grace Nichols ISLAND MAN
Island Man (for a Caribbean island man in London who still wakesup to the sound of the sea) Morningand island man wakes upto the sound of blue surfin his headthe steady breaking and wombing wild seabirdsand fishermen pushing out to seathe sun surfacing defiantlyfrom the eastof his small emerald islandhe always comes back groggily groggily Comes back to sandsof a grey metallic soar to surge of wheelsto dull North Circular roar muffling mufflinghis crumpled pillow wavesisland man heaves himself Another London day Grace Nichols The shape of the poem looks like the skyline of a city.
Island Man (for a Caribbean island man in London who still wakesup to the sound of the sea) Morningand island man wakes upto the sound of blue surfin his headthe steady breaking and wombing wild seabirdsand fishermen pushing out to seathe sun surfacing defiantlyfrom the eastof his small emerald islandhe always comes back groggily groggily Comes back to sandsof a grey metallic soar to surge of wheelsto dull North Circular roar muffling mufflinghis crumpled pillow wavesisland man heaves himself Another London day Grace Nichols The poem is split into two parts. They are split by the line “groggily groggily”. The first part is about the Caribbean and the Island Man’s dream. The second part is about his life in London, it is reality. Caribbean Dream ? London Reality ?
Morningand island man wakes upto the sound of blue surfin his headthe steady breaking and wombing The man has been dreaming about his life in the Caribbean. Wombing is a word associated with motherhood. He feels like a belongs in the Caribbean.
Nichols uses very natural images to describe the island. wild seabirdsand fishermen pushing out to seathe sun surfacing defiantlyfrom the eastof his small emerald islandhe always comes back groggily groggily The word “emerald” suggests that the island is precious. It is very important to the island man.
he always comes back groggily groggily The line “groggily groggily” is set off to one side. This suggests that the man is waking up and moving from one location to another.
London is described as “grey”. This suggests it is dull and contrasts the island which is described as “blue” and “emerald”. Nichols uses words associated with nature to describe the city. Comes back to sandsof a grey metallic soar to surge of wheelsto dull North Circular roar
The word “heaves” suggests that the man is finding it difficult to get out of bed. muffling mufflinghis crumpled pillow wavesisland man heaves himself Another London day The last line of the poem is on its own. This suggests that the island man feels isolated in London. The capital letters show the formality of London compared to the Caribbean. The word “another” shows his life his repetitive and boring.
