Poem

Ten Months

They say I must be a proud woman now,

Female friends eye my new state with envy.

Passengers smile and hurriedly surrender their seats

As I walk about, squeeze my way in,

Repeating ‘excuse me’, ‘excuse me’

Everywhere I go,

Gathering alien pounds of flesh and

Swelling mountains of milk,

Hunting for bigger bras at the lingerie department.

I move along, an obedient student, minding their advices,

Surreptitiously avoiding sushi, crabs, Xerox machines;

Hiding my stilettos, dozens of shoeboxes of them;

Earning sympathy from mother-in-law.

How do the others cope? This long countdown until

The metallic table, clanging utensils,

Stitches, the deft movements of the obstetric surgeon?

(How many does he handle in a day?)

Very soon I will have

Green snakes creeping along my legs,

And be content making jelly cubes and pound cakes.

In the darkness we lay

Side by side, so intimately related,

Sharing our new story.

I hear her sound breathing, imagine my son’s heartbeat,

Rhythm of a small toy drum.

Her beauty moves me beyond words,

Like a peacock spreading her iridescent plumage.

Copyright (c) Jennifer Wong 2008

now read the lesson plan

Lesson Plan

Part I – Reading and discussion (15 minutes)

The poem can be seen as comprising two parts – from 1st to 5th stanza and then from 6th to 9th stanza. Discuss the differences between these two parts of the poem and what messages do you think they contain? Who is the speaking voice for the last three stanzas, and does this voice (in italic) differ from the original first-person voice? How?

Part II - Coaching (by teacher; 15 minutes)

Synopsis of poem:

o The poem conveys the excitement and anxiety of a woman as she journeys through her pregnancy. She is sensitive about the various physical changes or responses of her body as a result of pregnancy, and is aware that friends and others in the society regard her differently.

o At the same time, she expects and worries about the pains of giving birth, as conveyed in the 5th stanza, as well as getting concerned with the quality of life after pregnancy – will she be reduced into a very preoccupied, domestic wife capable only of making jelly cubes and pound cakes?

o At the end of the poem, the voice shifts to her husband’s. He thinks about his pregnant wife and wonders at the novel experience for them – waiting for a child to arrive. The poem conveys the excitement he feels about having his own child and the mixed emotions he has towards his wife.

Stanza structure: each stanza is limited to 2-4 lines. This sets a brisk pace for the poem, so that the poem runs like a quick series of snapshots of a pregnant woman, and matches well with the positive tone of her voice.

Rhyme: the use of end rhymes and internal rhyme such as ‘snakes’, ‘legs’, and ‘pound cakes’ (6th stanza)

Punctuation: there is an extensive use of exclamations (question marks and exclamation marks) to build up the expressive personality of the voice, and the excitement experienced by the pregnant woman.

Poetic devices:

1. Metaphor: to say that one thing is equivalent to another. Here, the heartbeat of the child in the wife’s womb is compared to the sound of a toy drum (8th stanza, 2nd line). This highlights the petite size of the child/his heart and also fuels it with a sense of fatherly affection.

2. Exaggeration: a few exaggerations in the poem help to foster the humorous tone and builds up the personality of the female voice. For example, people ‘surrender’ their seats to the pregnant woman on the train (1st stanza, 3rd line), ‘swelling mountains of milk’ describing the mother’s breasts (3rd stanza, 2nd line) and the ‘hunting’ of new bras to fit (3rd stanza, 3rd line).

Part III – Brainstorming and assignments (15 minutes)

Rhyme on wonderful things: using words from below or elsewhere, compose an 8-liner poem on marriage/wedding that rhymes abab aabb:

o Gold bangle; video; pillow; possible; veil

o Jewelry; dowry; story; history; mystery

o Wedding ring; name; sing; chain; bring; rain

o Wife; fight; sight; night; ignite; excite; unite

o Hands; stand; thank; bend; band; sand

Language

Tense

Present simple to describe a state

Modal auxiliary ‘will’ for a prediction

Attributive adjectives

A proud woman

My new state

Alien pounds

Bigger bras

The lingerie department

An obedient student

The long countdown

The metallic table

Clanging utensils

Obstetric surgeon

Green snakes (metaphorical)

Jelly cubes

Pound cakes

 
Participial adjectives (present participles being used to extend a description)

Gathering alien pounds of flesh

Swelling mountains of milk (metaphorical)

Hunting for …

Poet Bio

Jennifer Wong is a young Hong Kong poet and author of poetry collection Summer Cicadas.

She is delighted in the way poetry and travel connect, bridging distances and cultures.

She has participated in various poetry festivals and readings, including the Man International Literary Festival.