Cockroaches
by Mauri Yambo
Poem 9 Page 19
About the Poet:
Mauri Yambo
• Professor Mauri Onyalo Yambo was born in
Nairobi, Kenya on 25th February 1947. He is
married and has one daughter and two sons.
• An extremely educated scholar, Yambo holds
a PhD in Sociology and has contributed to
hundreds of research papers focusing on
issues related to Industrial Sociology.
• He was included in the 30th Pearl Anniversary
Edition (2013) of “Who’s Who in the World” as
one the world’s leading achievers in his field.
• He has published a number of anthologies
and regularly adds poems to his blog.
The poem Turn on the light
and helter-skelter
they scuttle
Cockroaches to their dark shelters.
by Mauri Cut them off
from their hideouts
Yambo block
their many approaches
and see cockroaches
in hopeless flurry
and helpless worry.
But
who ordained
the crash-fall
of sandals
on these
shy creatures?
Or
is it their love
of darkness
holds them suspect?
Title
Cockroaches
Viewed as pests,
unwanted creatures
But
Also a food source and an important link in the nutrient cycle as they
are considered “professional recyclers”
Lines 1-4
• helter-skelter – disorderly haste or
confusion
• scuttle – run hurriedly or furtively with
short quick steps
Turn on the light • skelter … scuttle – alliteration:
and helter-skelter emphasising confused haste
they scuttle • shelters – places of protection, they feel
to their dark shelters. vulnerable
• light /dark – contrast to highlight the
change that causes action of confused
haste
Stanza 1 – cockroaches’ movement is
like confused haste
Lines 5-11
Cut them off
from their hideouts • Cut them off … block – restrict movement
(in contrast to stanza 1)
block • block – isolated in line, emphasising the
their many approaches restricted movement
and see cockroaches • approaches – direction of movement OR
in hopeless flurry ways to deal with a situation or problem
and helpless worry. • approaches … cockroaches – rhyme to
highlight their dilemma
• hopeless/helpless – despair
• flurry – hurried movement
• …less & …ry – internal and end rhyme to
highlight vulnerability and confusion
Stanza 2 – the cockroaches’ confused
Lines 12-17
But
who ordained • But – isolated on line, showing a sudden
the crash-fall change in direction/thought
of sandals • ordained – having holy orders OR officially
ordered
on these
• crash-fall – hyphen creates compound that
shy creatures? highlights the heaviness of the sandals
• shy – links back to needing protection and
feeling vulnerable
Stanza 3 – rhetorical question, asking who
decided that these creatures must be
destroyed. Tone is confused and even
frustrated, creating pity in the reader.
Lines 18-21
Or • Or – isolated on line, shifts focus again
is it their love • their love – cockroaches own choice
of darkness • darkness – contrast again to light
holds them suspect? • holds them suspect – makes the
cockroaches seem guilty and untrustworthy
(criminalises)
Stanza 4 – another Rhetorical question
that forces reader to think about why
cockroaches are disliked so much
• Alliteration and rhyme – to highlight
Structure
movement and feelings of
cockroaches (quick sudden
movement because of vulnerability
and Style
and confusion)
• Single-word lines – to highlight
change in thought direction
• Rhetorical questions – force reader
to consider the actions of the
cockroaches, as opposed to our
preconceived dislike of them
• Enjambment – quick movement, like
the cockroaches
SUBJECT THEME
Cockroaches – how we view Humans prejudge and dislike
them and how we dislike them things we don’t understand, and in
for no real reason doing so we fail to see the value to
such things
TONE INTENTION
Matter of fact, concerned, Make people aware of how they
questioning act towards things they don’t
understand and how they should
then try and be more
compassionate
