Review of Croatian poet Monika Herceg’s poem ‘Tiny Deaths’

 

Review of Croatian poet Monika Herceg’s poem ‘Tiny Deaths’

I request readers to read the poem first from the link below and then only review. Thanks.

https://www.poetryinternational.org/pi/poem/30248/auto/0/0/Monika-Herceg/tiny-deaths/en/tile

The poem depicts a night’s sleep of a family. Let’s see how each member’s sleep was in the same order as in the poem. The father’s dream was full of emptiness and the poet has chosen potato bugs as a metaphor. The emptiness proliferates within and he loses his sleep. The boy amongst the kids is grinding his teeth and we do not know what deprivation during day is disturbing him during night. Mother’s lips of pressed like mother Mary. Presumably the narrator is the girl child of the house, and in her nightmare she runs with her brother so fast that her lungs struggle to breathe. The atmosphere in the nightmare is like an inferno and is burning the children’s tender bodies. The overwhelming traumatic feel during the nightmare vanishes from their memories in the morning.

Nightmares aren’t odd. It’s a common occurrence for many, but mostly a rare one. But the tone of the poem reveals it’s frequent in their daily life. Under the same roof the dreams of individuals vary. The stress they undergo too. The entire family sleeps in the same room (Living room?) That means they hardly make both ends meet. Poor are never accepted anywhere including family or friends circles. The lenders only contact them regularly. The elders’ anxiety about the uncertain future is the cause of kids’ trepidation. The threats and challenges outside the home transcends inside too often for the marginalized. The poem is more relatable to those who have struggled against odds and with poverty at some stage or other. The poet has chosen the right genre to make the content impact the reader powerfully. The title ‘Tiny deaths’ makes us understand daily life itself is a great struggle for them.