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Poems about punishment confront readers with the consequences of one’s actions, exploring the burden of guilt and remorse.
These meaningful poems explore the inner conflict faced by those who must grapple with the repercussions of their choices. They may question the morality of punitive measures, challenging readers to consider the multifaceted nature of justice and the potential for redemption even in the face of punishment.
‘an afternoon nap’ by Arthur Yap explores the lacunae in the modern education system and how it results in anxiety and stress in students.
the ambitious mother across the road
is at it again. proclaming her goodness
she beats the boy. shouting out his wrongs, with raps
she begins with his mediocre report-book grades.
‘Half-Past Two’ utilizes childish vernacular and mismatched capitalization to reflect the stress of a young boy, who in the past was punished for “Something Very Wrong.”
Once upon a schooltime
He did Something Very Wrong
(I forget what it was).
And She said he’d done
‘Punishment’ is featured in “North” – a poetry collection published in 1975. “North” seeks for images and symbols to convey violence and political conflicts.
I can feel the tug
of the halter at the nape
of her neck, the wind
on her naked front.
‘Remember Remember the 5th of November’ is a commemorative poem that celebrates the capture and execution of Guy Fawkes. It is recited on Guy Fawkes day, celebrated on November the 5th.
Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
‘Part II: The Rime of The Ancient Mariner’ sees the Mariner’s regret in killing the albatross, triggering a curse of thirst and stagnation.
The Sun now rose upon the right:
Out of the sea came he,
Still hid in mist, and on the left
Went down into the sea.
In ‘Part V: The Rime of The Ancient Mariner,’ the dead crew rises, guided by spirits, in a quest for redemption. Supernatural meets divine.
The other was a softer voice,
As soft as honey-dew:
Quoth he, 'The man hath penance done,
And penance more will do.'
In ‘A Little Boy Lost’ Blake critiques oppressive authority, questioning blind adherence and societal complicity.
‘Nought loves another as itself,
Nor venerates another so,
Nor is it possible to Thought
A greater than itself to know:
‘A Sunday Morning Tragedy’ reveals a tragic attempt to avert shame, ending in the daughter’s death and the mother’s deep remorse.
I bore a daughter flower-fair,
In Pydel Vale, alas for me;
I joyed to mother one so rare,
But dead and gone I now would be.
Rudyard Kipling’s ‘The Camel’s Hump’ is a fun poem on the repercussions of lethargy and inactivity. Humorously, we may grow a “Cameelious hump” if we feel like “we haven’t enough to do.”
The Camel's hump is an ugly lump
Which well you may see at the Zoo;
But uglier yet is the hump we get
From having too little to do.
‘Goosey goosey gander’ is an old English nursery rhyme that has unclear origins. But, it does have a few very interesting interpretations.
Goosey goosey gander,
Whither shall I wander?
Upstairs and downstairs
And in my lady's chamber.
‘Dereliction’ by Chinua Achebe is an ambiguous poem in which three speakers elaborate on the action of, a probable consequence of, and probable pardon for, failing to fulfil one’s duties.
I quit the carved stool
in my father’s hut to the swelling
chant of saber-tooth termites
raising in the pith of its wood
‘A Prodigal Son’ reveals how a mixture of desperation, shame, and longing leads a wayward child back toward a redemptive parental love.
Does that lamp still burn in my Father's house,
Which he kindled the night I went away?
I turned once beneath the cedar boughs,
And marked it gleam with a golden ray;
‘Human Interest’ by Duffy muses on love’s fatal collapse, challenging the notion of a single act’s defining power.
Fifteen years minimum, banged up inside
for what took thirty seconds to complete.
She turned away. I stabbed. I felt this heat
burn through my skull until reason had died.
‘In the Prison Pen’ by Herman Melville describes the life of a prisoner who is unable to recall his past life and is haunted by his present and future.
Listless he eyes the palisades
And sentries in the glare;
’Tis barren as a pelican-beach—
But his world is ended there.
Jonathan Swift’s acerbic poem ‘On the Day of Judgment’ is about a speaker’s vision of the judgment day with Jove or Jupiter giving his final ruling on humankind’s offenses.
With a whirl of thought oppress’d,
I sunk from reverie to rest.
A horrid vision seized my head,
I saw the graves give up their dead!
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