This is the dark time, my love - Martin Carter
January 24th, 2006 |
Published in
Poetic Junction | 58 Comments
This is the dark time, my love,
All round the land brown beetles crawl about
The shining sun is hidden in the sky
Red flowers bend their heads in awful sorrow
This is the dark time, my love,
It is the season of oppression, dark metal, and tears.
It is the festival of guns, the carnival of misery
Everywhere the faces of men are strained and anxious
Who comes walking in the dark night time?
Whose boot of steel tramps down the slender grass
It is the man of death, my love, the stranger invader
Watching you sleep and aiming at your dream.
January 26th, 2006 at 3:18 am (#)
Hi Folks, I am touching base from Boston Massachusetts and I am inpressed with your Program. My visit to the Guyana Friends Associatin’s Banquet in Surry a few year was fun. It is my hope to return soon. I would like to send you a copy of GEM (Guyana Entertainment Magazine) to share with your audience. The magazine which highlights tourism, cultural events, sports and more. Give Bridgit Sam-Baily, president of GFA UK a shot out. Johnny Braff, Stop the Mucis would be nice to hear. Please keep me posted. Gus Corbin
March 27th, 2007 at 4:28 am (#)
This poem is… I have no words for it. I had to read it when studyiing literture for CSEC exams and it has haunted me since then (2 years ago…). Martin Carter has touched the very depths of my soul and has awakened a longing in me to identify more with my African ancestry; their pain and struggles for freedom.
The funny thing is, im not all that hype for poetry, i tolerate it.
January 26th, 2008 at 8:55 am (#)
am studying this poem for my CSEC cxc examns currently and the entire class of us have agreed that this poem is the best so far. it’s written from the heart as are all the poems of true west indian poets
January 28th, 2008 at 11:51 pm (#)
am doing this poem now for csec and it really gave me goosebumps. the language is powerful and the very way the poem is written shows the amount of feeling martin carter put into it. it really touched me
January 29th, 2008 at 6:54 am (#)
garfield/leah we’d love to hear what you finally write about the poem.
and thanks for stopping by
January 31st, 2008 at 9:44 pm (#)
I have studied this poem like the last two posts…for CXC Exams and I still rememeber it to this day (8 years ago) and it comes to my mind now… because of what is happens in our nation today…its fitting.
March 10th, 2008 at 9:00 pm (#)
I’ve been teaching this poem for the past four years, and I’ve gotten the same reaction from the students over the years!!
It really does get to them, in the best of ways. It moves them to the very moment that Carter wrote it. The poem’s immediacy os remarkable.
March 11th, 2008 at 7:40 am (#)
Tournesol where are you teaching the poem?
March 19th, 2008 at 12:19 am (#)
This poem have captured the hearts of many viewers who glued there eyes to the writing of martin carter.it really appeals to our emotions to express how we feel about what’s happening in the poem. keep up the good work Martin.
April 27th, 2008 at 3:00 am (#)
i am studying for the CSEC exam and to be honest…i hated poetry but waw….this poem is really amazing…its really deep and made me more interested in poetry.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:31 pm (#)
i really enjoyed studyin dis poem for my cxc exams…and its wonderful to read of the history behind it…all in all to help me understand it..kudos to Martin Carter…even though despite the writing of this poem, corruption is still high and so is racism in Guyana…
May 11th, 2008 at 9:08 am (#)
This poem is a quite in teresting one.I’m studying this one along with 19 other poems for CXC Exam in a few days.It’s not one to be taken lightly but it ought to be thought of in a very serious manner.All credit to Martin Carter!
May 13th, 2008 at 12:34 am (#)
I must say that this poem has left me rather speechless.the way thepoet uses the words to grasp the readers attentoin is amazing.I am not a fan of poetry but every once in a while ill read one or two,and ther is always one that lingers.this is a great poem and if i get it on my cxc paper im sure pass.
May 24th, 2008 at 10:58 pm (#)
This poem touches your heart and life real deep. This poem will always be in my heart and mind forever because of it’s power that it have on me and my life.Yhis poem brings pain and joy in so ways.The part i hate is the two end lines, it makes me cry.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:01 am (#)
I am a Jamaican currently in Grade nine and I am studying this poem along with 3 others for my term exam. I enjoy studying this poem because of the story it tells and the vivid pictures of oppression and sorrow that linger in my head throughout and even for a while after I’ve read it. Martin Carter’s use of paradoxes and irony bring to light the misery and gloom of the time. I especially like the repetition of the title during the poem, and the history behind the purely genius words Carter uses to paint a historical picture of Guyanese oppression.
June 21st, 2008 at 8:55 pm (#)
i am studying this poem as well for my CSEC exam and i must say that is was quite interesting. The pathetic fallacy used was amazing and i actually felt everything was connected to nature.
September 6th, 2008 at 10:17 pm (#)
i have to do this poem for class and my csec xams next year can anyone give me notes/summaries abt the poem?
September 10th, 2008 at 3:05 am (#)
I love the way Martin wrote this poem. It touches the very core of your mind and it creates such a strong visual imagery. It is a fave and also strongly written is Sonnets from China XV by W.H. Auden
September 11th, 2008 at 2:58 am (#)
im only a 15 year old girl and the poem this is the dark time,my love it has really touch my heart because of the words and also the meaningof each line it made feel the love that he has for Guyana
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:21 pm (#)
this poem is shit
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:23 pm (#)
a complete waste of my time i dont why they asses can;t talk
proper english for people to under its like reading and shakespare and shit.am out
September 26th, 2008 at 8:13 pm (#)
i think the poems great and the person that does not understand it just does not have the patience to see the true beauty of the poem.and i as a 15 year old girl have already experinced the beauty of it.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:45 am (#)
i agree with jigsaw
October 10th, 2008 at 6:40 am (#)
‘Proper english’, u say? your sentence isn’t even properly structured! If it wasted ur time…why even bother to leave a comment? If you think your imbecile piece of criticism will,however, detract from our pleasure of enjoying this piece of literature! I say you’re quite ignoble, dullard and desperate for attention. You’ve no appreciation for literature whatsoever! i totally agree with ‘michelle’…”Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”…you guys are quite blind, metaphorically speaking…(that goes for ‘girl’…as well)
As a 13 year old girl, in ninth grade and from Guyana “This is the dark time, my love” informs me of Guyana’s past and makes me more appreciative of my country. I love literature and this is one of the interesting poems i’ve read. It’s set in British Guiana when the govenor suspended the constitution and British soldiers were sent to ‘maintain order’.
October 10th, 2008 at 6:47 am (#)
I have, before you, three questions that I really need help with. [Thank you]
1) The poem juxtaposes guns and soldiers with the things of nature (’red flowers’- line 4, ’slender grass’- line 10).Why do you think this juxtaposition is do frequently used in this type of poem?
2) What is the effect of the repeated reference to ‘my love’ in the poem?
3) In the last line the ‘man of death’ is ‘aiming at your dream’.What does this mean?What is threatened by the soldies if not life itself?
October 13th, 2008 at 2:56 pm (#)
reading all the above comments and having the capability to comprehend the same emoticion as everyone, allows me to come to an abrupt realisation of the great significance of this poem. i am proud of who i am and where i coming from. and this poem reveals one of many obstacles that a lot of Caribbean countries had to overcome to live and embrace our cultural beauty. i am a full breed Jamaican and i am proud of who i am……and i give all my respect to Guyana for their struggle to be free.
October 13th, 2008 at 8:01 pm (#)
oh?…..you’re from Guyana.
That explains your “tone of voice”.
October 13th, 2008 at 8:03 pm (#)
Take it from me kid….CALM DOWN
October 14th, 2008 at 2:48 am (#)
listen i love the way carter writes all his poem and this one is my favorite. carter is obviously writing to someone who could be his country. i like his use of literary devices and what he is conveying to readers about the period of war in which British Guiana as going through at the time.
October 31st, 2008 at 7:50 pm (#)
we are students of a school in trinidad and we are doing this poem to.And we really like it, it reminds of the feelings we have for our country.it shows us the history behind the Guyanese oppression and we love the idea that we can learn more about another country culture and historicial background.we are writting cxc in june so we would plz like more info about the poem (this is the dark time, my love) feel free to call laura (18684718927)or shantal at (18684911189) ONLY WORK REALATED PLZ……….; TRINIDAD love yuh
October 31st, 2008 at 7:51 pm (#)
hey all plz call or send us notes on the poem we really need it for cxc so plzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
October 31st, 2008 at 7:53 pm (#)
anyone log in????
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:17 am (#)
i am a 16 year old Jamaican who is a big fan of lit. i love this poem, it’s deep its factual, its realistic n practical. i will sit the cxc csec exams in march next year and also, i have a test on it in a week. could sum1 plz assist me in summarizing this poem and identifying the literary devices?
Thanx in advance.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:36 am (#)
im a 16 year old Jamaican, a student of exed, as well who is a big fan of literature, but unfortunately my teacher marks really hard. i enjoy this poem a lot because it speaks about the struggle of Guyana during British colonization. martin beautifully use nature to convey the actions of the poem resulting in its mildness. he use the words festival and carnival to show a high level of enormous military actions.the poet likens death as a man walking in steel boots, this shows the absolute presence of death in the land. the use of the word steel boot enhance the severity of death. this is all i know for now, remember that Jesus is coming soon.
November 10th, 2008 at 2:23 am (#)
This poem is a very touching poem. i did this poem as a student and now i am teaching student to read, analyse and interpret this same poem. In schools today some students love poems while some are not open minded enough to appreciate a good poem from a great poet, Martin Carter. This poem is rated 10 in my book.
November 16th, 2008 at 9:01 pm (#)
I am currently studying this poem for CSEC. This poem appeals to the heart. Great job Martin Carter!
November 20th, 2008 at 4:20 am (#)
this poem is great ! i love the way it juxtaposes things of happiness with things of sadness and misery eg”festival of guns ,Carnival of misery ” To show how plentiful those weapons of sadness were .and also the emphasis on the sorrow that is caused in the poem by the soldiers by his repetition of the phrase “this is the dark time my love ” anyone who doesn’t like this poem is plain old STUPID no joke . anyway i am doing this poem for cxc and i really need extra nots so could you email them to me plzzzzz
November 20th, 2008 at 4:29 am (#)
Ooops sorry *Notes not “nots”
November 21st, 2008 at 4:24 am (#)
NICE POEM BUT NEEDS MORE COOL WORD BUT THIS IS GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:58 am (#)
…seriously?? I feel oppressed! I find poetry and literature to be…quite…pointless. I mean it’s enough to read the damn thing, but to understand and make sense o’ some o’ these literature pieces is jus’ hell! Don’t get me started on Merchant of Venice, thank God fo’ SparkNotes (fo’ those o y’all that understand). What irritates me, however, is the fact that I’m basically being forced to analyze these damn things. Um…so what’s the point?? Somebody writes a piece of literature with THEIR OWN meaning to it. So why the hell are we here now EACH analyzing, interpreting, being subjective, giving our own opinions?? Hey, I know everything counts for something, but trus’ me, if I was in a position to choose literature or not for CSEC I would not be here commenting.
Next messed up thing, I find that teachers generally mark literature and poetry work as if there’s ONLY ONE damn answer. Now tell me, if this is basically an opinionated thing (you can agree right? You give me poem X, I interpret it as Y, nex’ man interpret it as Z…) how can I be marked by basically one definite answer when I’m submitting my own interpretation. You know what this really applies to, UNSEEN PAPERS! So I go exam, see poem fisrt time in my life, read it…interpret and provide ma answers, step outa exam, then to find out seh this poem is understood as ’so’ and ’so’ alone, and will be marked as such…most likely my interpretation was way off…
Reel foolishnis…IMO
Ja | 16 yrs/o | 5th form | prominent high school
-Was never, prob never will be fond of literature…really outa touch wit everytin still, prob depression…
February 11th, 2009 at 6:07 am (#)
This poem is really touching. I love the way how the poet uses repition to place emphasis on how dark of a time guyana was going through. I also love the brilliant use of imagery which formed vivid pictures in my mind.
February 15th, 2009 at 12:00 pm (#)
I AM FROM JAMAICA
March 17th, 2009 at 3:19 am (#)
the poem “this is a dark time my love” is a personal favourite. the things i love about this poem is that mr. carter talks about him being jailed in a time of sorrow he and his country is going through. throughout the poem , it is brimmed with the anxiety of the times - oppresion,fear,bloodshed. i simply love it
umm i really wud be needing help so anyone kind enough plz help me out .peace.
March 17th, 2009 at 9:20 pm (#)
Hi, my name is christina Harris. I am from Jamaica and I am studying some poems for the cxc examination. The poem ‘This is the dark time my love’ however have me reading and re-reading it over and over again. I find the techniques very simple to analize but somehow I believe there is more to the what of the poem than what i think it is. This therefore has urge me to give my views of what i understand from the poem in pursuit of suggestions in helping me to interpret the poem better.Here goes:
Death, suffering and distruction are the main ideas permeating the poem ‘This is the dark time my love’ written by Martin Carter. It tells the story of a society where vulnerable and innocent individuals are being oppressed by powerful soldiers. These soldiers who are described as ’strange invaders’ are very sadistic. To them, it is ‘the festival of guns’, but, to the people it is ‘the carnival of misery’. Throughout this crisis the faces of the people are ’strained and anxious’ for it to end, but the soldiers kep ‘walking in the dark night time’ aiming at their dreams. Indeed they were threating the future.
suggessions:
March 22nd, 2009 at 11:03 am (#)
I really don’t get this poem or even how it can be compared to Colonial Girls School by Belizean poet Olive Senior . . . does anyone know that other poem??? And please, if you can state how they are similar . . . I am studying this poem for my CSEC examination and would at least like to get the inner meaning. The basis of the poem is warfare and oppression, but I don’t understand the oppression part of it . . . Help please
April 17th, 2009 at 12:33 pm (#)
Last year, taking my English Literature, I also have to admit, when I got deeper into the poem, it was an amazing experience. Just being able to get interested in other people’s struggles, and to learn what they went through, by reading a piece of poetry…
Now that takes skill, on the part of the poet.
Nuff Respect.
April 17th, 2009 at 12:35 pm (#)
@Nikki - I had the definition of every line typed up somewhere. I am not going to feed it to you word by word, but if you want to get in touch through email or msn, I might be able to help you out, if you’re still looking for help and interested?
April 24th, 2009 at 12:38 am (#)
@Tim van der Velde - hi i aont really no u bt i am a 4 form student n i really need ur help on ths poem so plz reply ASAP.
April 28th, 2009 at 6:45 am (#)
@Nikki - @christina -
@Nikki - @Nikki -
Nikki dearest I am Jamaican and U always knew Olive Senior to be jamaican too…sice when did she accept belizean citizenship?…
April 28th, 2009 at 6:46 am (#)
Nikki dearest I am Jamaican and I always knew Olive Senior to be Jamaican too…since when did she accept Belizean citizenship?…
May 4th, 2009 at 9:43 pm (#)
this poem is about the invasion of british soliders to maintain order in british guiana.the title alone tells us its about a current troubled time. the mood is sombre. there are metaphors such as brown beetles- they represent the invadors and destroyers, shining sun represents life. red flowers represents blood, danger,energy,love
shining sun is hidden in sky-sinister(aliteration)
dark metal- guns ammonation
festival of guns, carnival of misery- celebration bitter-sweet
slender grass- powerless locals
boot of steel leaves footprints- leaves destruction behind
watching you sleep - vulnerable
May 4th, 2009 at 11:54 pm (#)
this poem is the best poe thatb i have read . it tell the real things that our country`s freedom fighters had to go throught for our independece . i thanks MARTIN CARTER FOR HIS CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS OUR COUNTRY `S INDEPENDENCE.
May 7th, 2009 at 2:43 am (#)
i really enjoyed this poem but could someone help me out with the lynching i’m getting some trouble with this one……….
May 8th, 2009 at 10:24 pm (#)
hi ,my name is mandi and i am studing the poem.the thing about the poem is that is it captures yr attention whether u like it or not ,martin carter created that poem so we can make our own comment and for us to see ,feel and understand what had happen to him . anyway i need help with understanding it more. so please anyone can u help me
May 10th, 2009 at 4:43 am (#)
Thanks sheniece of comment 51 you helped me a whole of a lot
now i understand the poem even more
you really saved me now i can walk into the exam confident
thanks if they bring the poem in the exam
again thanks whoever you are
May 12th, 2009 at 8:12 pm (#)
THIS POEMS SUCKS BALLSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HATE LITERATURE!!! AND THIS POEM IS BAD!
May 13th, 2009 at 7:56 am (#)
This poem is very nice however it would have been nicer if we didn’t get it for CSEC and it would have been the nicest thing ever if we didn’t have twenty of these outrageous poems to complete. I don’t really understand how the past could affect anyone’s heart unless they themselves are somehow directly affected. The world keeps moving forward and it doesn’t make sense making it appear as this poem made a major impact on your lives at this time. For anyone still studying poems it isn’t too late. I am wasting my time with them, so should you.
May 27th, 2009 at 6:33 am (#)
I love this poem and the effect it has on me.It is kind of difficult but if you read with much understanding it will convey a wonderful message.It shows the writers interst in his country and his disguss of the war.The only part i find difficult to understand is the juxpositionof guns and soilders with things of nature