Extract from Out of the Blue Lyrics
Through a distant shot of a building burning
you have noticed now
that a white cotton shirt is twirling, turning.
In fact I am waving, waving.
Small in the clouds, but waving, waving.
Does anyone see
a soul worth saving?
So when will you come?
Do you think you are watching, watching
a man shaking crumbs
or pegging
out washing?
I am trying and trying.
The heat behind me is bullying, driving,
but the white of surrender is not yet flying.
I am not at the point of leaving, diving.
A bird goes by.
The depth is appalling. Appalling
that others like me
should be wind-milling, wheeling, spiralling, falling.
About
Simon Armitage’s poem ‘Out of the Blue’ is taken from his 2008 collection of the same name.
Told from the point of view of an English trader working in the North Tower of the World Trade Centre on 9/11, this extract is the final third of the poem.
Structure – This section comprises mainly four line verses, though this varies. The verse is free, without a regular rhyme scheme, as if reflecting random thoughts and fears
Voice – First person, with the speaker addressing the reader. This is sustained throughout the poem. He conveys the inner thoughts of a man trapped and in terror. The language is simple, yet the verses build up a picture of desperation and despair.
Poetic techniques – Rhyme and half-rhyme; repetition; metaphor; syntactic parallelism.
Q&A
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