Gillian Clarke's poem laments the damage caused to the marine environment and loss of human lives during the Gulf War. Each stanza highlights a different aspect of the devastation, from endangered sea turtles struggling to find safe breeding grounds due to oil spills, to sea birds experiencing long, painful migrations as their habitats are destroyed. The poem depicts images of oil-covered animals and burned landscapes to convey a sense of grief and anger over the irreparable harm inflicted on the environment and lives lost in the conflict. It suggests that human conflicts like war ultimately have severe, wide-ranging consequences beyond what is intended.

1. For the cormorant in his funeral silk,the veil of iridescence on the sand,the shadow on the sea.For the gunsmith and the armourer,the boy fusilier who joined for the company,the farmer’s sons, in it for the music.For the green turtle with her pulsing burden,in search of the breeding ground.For her eggs laid in their nest of sickness.For the green turtle with her pulsing burden,in search of the breeding ground.For her eggs laid in their nest of sickness.For the green turtle with her pulsing burden,in search of the breeding ground.For her eggs laid in their nest of sickness.For the cormorant in his funeral silk,the vel of iridescence on the sand,the shadow on the sea.For the cormorant in his funeral silk,the veil of iridescence on the sand,the shadow on the sea.For the cormorant in his funeral silk,the veil of iridescence on the sand,the shadow on the sea.For the burnt earth and the sun put out,The scalded ocean and the blazing well.For vengeance, and the ashes of language. For the tern, the gull and the restless wader,the long migrations and the slow dying,the veiled sun and the stink of anger.For the ocean’s lap with.For Ahmed at the closed border.For the soldier in his uniform of fire.For the ocean’s lap with its mortal stain.For Ahmed at the closed border.LamentFor the gunsmith and the armourer,the boy fusilier who joined for the company,the farmer’s sons, in it for the music.For the gunsmith and the armourer,the boy fusilier who joined for the company,the farmer’s sons, in it for the music.For the gunsmith and the armourer,the boy fusilier who joined for the company,the farmer’s sons, in it for the music.For the tern, the gull and the restless wader,For the ocean’s lap with its mortal stain..For the hook-beaked turtles,the dugong and the dolphin,the whale struck dumb by the missile’s thunder.For the tern, the gull and the restless wader,the long migrations and the slow dying,the veiled sun and the stink of anger.For the burnt earth and the sun put out,The scalded ocean and the blazing well.Gillian ClarkeFor the tern, the gull and the restless wader,For the burnt earth and the sun put out,

2. We need to know that Lament means grief…Firstly…

3. Gillian Clarke’s poems’ main focus is to point out the damage the Gulf War and humans in general, are creating to the marine environment.Her poems are highlighting the issues of oil spills and their results and also the killing of marine animals for food and also their deaths caused by the war.She also feels grief for the loss of human lives during the Gulf War.Subject Matter

4. In this stanza, Gillian Clarke talks about green turtles and their ultimate search for safe breeding grounds on the shore. There is presence of an oxymoron in the phrase “pulsing burden”. ‘Pulsing” refers to the energy of the baby turtle and ‘burden’, which has negative connotations, refers to the unpleasant feelings the turtle experiences.There is also a metaphor present; ‘Nest of Sickness’. It backs up the point the author is making about the burden of the turtle because green turtles are suffering due to the effects of the war and human activity.Stanza One

5. This stanza relates to the cormorant, a sea bird, and how the oil spill caused by the Gulf War affected the birds by covering them with its ‘Funeral Silk’. The ‘Funeral Silk’ creates a link between the dangers the birds faced and the fact that these dangers are caused by the oil spills. ‘Veil of iridescence’ and ‘Shadow on the sea’ are both talking about, how the oil has spread all over, on land and sea. It also talks about the appearances of oil. The phrase ‘shadow on the sea’ simply connotes to the negativity of the oil spill. Stanza Two

6. The ocean is described as being affected or ‘stained’. It also describes it as ‘mortal’ which has negative connotations such as death. ‘Mortal Stain’ is used to describe the oil on the ocean. ‘Closed border’ and ‘uniform of fire’ is used to create an image of being trapped and not being able to escape the problems of the Gulf War damage to the environment as well as the animals.‘Uniform of fire’ also gives impression of death and suffering for the souls that fought in the Gulf War.Stanza Three

7. This stanza mainly laments the loss of human lives during the war. It lists out all the possible brave souls that chose to fight for their country in the war.The stanza also points out a volunteer for the fight; the farmers’ son. It says that he is in it for the ‘music’. Music mostly relates to a happy or a lively tone so we can say that Gillian Clarke is trying to tells us the volunteers signed up for glory and the victories they would experience.‘Music’ can also be related to the ending of certain things. For example, we say its somebody’s ‘swan song’ when they make an appearance for the last time. In this stanza, ‘music’ can also relate to the end and the death of these poor volunteers who do not know what they are getting themselves intoStanza Four

8. This stanzas show grief and sorrow for the different breeds of animals that live in the gulf. Their death would either be caused by the war itself or the oil spill which is the main cause of most of the casualties marine life experiences.The stanza also says ‘The whale struck dumb by the missile’s thunder’. This phrase may seem little, but when you think about it, it emphasises the effect of war on the marine environment. Even the whale, the largest animal known to mankind, is struck dumb by a missile we have launched to defeat another nation. Stanza Five

9. This stanza talks about the grief for the birds who experience painful migrations and death, again caused by us humans during the Gulf War, making their original habitat uninhabitable.The use of the phrase “long migrations and the slow dying” emphasizes the damage we have created to the birds, causing them to migrate to a different place and this results in many deaths to occur.“The veiled sun” in this stanza adds in a pessimistic feeling, since “Veiled” means covered and a covered sun suggests darkness and evil. This phrase also has a link to the following stanza where it also mentions the death of the sun. The covering of the sun also shows the lack of light which creates a dark and eerie atmosphere to the poem, abolishing the innocent aspect.Stanza Six

10. “Burnt earth and the sun put out”, again suggests something disastrous had happened, since there is no light and the earth is burning. There is reference again, about the damaged ocean mainly to emphasize the point. The word ‘scalded’, backing up the point from earlier of ‘mortal’, shows that the ocean has been damaged significantly by the oil that we have poured out into the ocean.‘Vengeance’ has also been used to remove the innocent aspect of the poem and bring in the angry side of it. It could mean that the revenge we all seek so dearly is the cause for all this.Stanza Seven