Glasgow 5th March 1971

A couple in Glasgow are pushed into a shop window by two men. The men then steal what they can from the shop. Two drivers pass and take no notice. This suggests that the indifference of the drivers possibly has the most impact on the reader. The reader asks himself where the good samaritan in this scenario is?. What will become of society if we turn our back on our fellowship?.

The poem has 7 sentences which are statements but it has no rhyme, rhythm or stanzas. The layout is quite like a newspaper article and also the title makes it like an article too. The whole poem throughout has an objective and prosaic style. The use of present tense makes poem have an immediacy. The impact of the poem comes from the contrast between form and content. The form is clinical and objective but the context is shocking and sickening.

Throughout the poem there are conotations of marrage. On the first line it says "ragged diamond", obviously this links to a diamond ring. This is also an oxymoron that suggests the clarity and sharp edges of the glass, but also the danger presented by the rough shards. 'shattered plate', shattered is an onomatopoeia and plate suggests the toughened glass, that suggests the force of the impact and that you can hear the young pair falling through the shop window. Again the connotations of marriage or engagement are conveyed through the words "white-coat" as it suggests the young pair are to marry. However the repetition of 'young' is used so that we feel more sympathy for the young pair.

'The young man's face, is bristling with fragments of glass.' This means that the man has a metaphorical beard of glass, this is suggested through the words bristling and fragments. The word "bristling" is an onomatopoeia. 'And the girls leg has caught'- the word caught is not a shocking word however in the context of this horrific image of a girls flesh that is ripped on a shard of glass creates an image that the girl's leg was stuck to this sharp piece of glass. ' and spurts arterial blood, over her wet-look white coat'- arterial suggests the volume and force of the blood shooting out of the girl's leg and the link to the white coat makes the horror image more vivid. Also connotations of doctors.

'Their arms are starfished out'. The metaphor illustrates body images of the young people's limbs flung in all directions, entering the window. This suggests the vulnerability of their bodies. 'Their faces show no surprise, shock and the beginning of pain.' This line is repeated later to highlight a contrast between the victims and the attackers and the word beginning suggests that there will be much more pain to come! It shows Their is the use of sibilance in this sentence, because their is repetition of the letters or words s,sh sounds in two or more words in these short sentences.

'The two youths who have pushed them are about to complete the operation.' The word operation means in this context that the robbery was planned. The connotations are of a medical operation, which the victims will probably need after this tragedy. Assonance is used in 'two youths' because this is deliberate repetition of consonant sounds in two or more words in short succession. 'To loot what they can smartly'- loot is a comical word for the proceeds of a robbery giving the impression that the thieves do not take their actions seriously. Smartly has connotations of being clever, quick but it also suggests the idea of pain again.

'It is a sharp, clear night'- Sharp and clear may describe the coldness in the air or the fact that the drivers could see clearly, but choose not to look or to get involved in the tragedy. This certainly relates back to the broken glass 'ragged diamond' of the beginning. Finally the last two lines sum up the poet's theme. As I have stated at the beginning the poet's theme is summed up in the last two lines of the poem. The indifference of the drivers possibly has the most impact on the reader.