Island Man (for a Caribbean island man in London who still wakes up to the sound of the sea) Morning and island man wakes up to the sound of blue surf in his head the steady breaking and wombing wild seabirds and fishermen pushing out to sea the sun surfacing defiantly from the east of his small emerald island he always comes back groggily groggily Comes back to sands of a grey metallic soar to surge of wheels to dull North Circular roar muffling muffling his crumpled pillow waves island man heaves himself Another London day Grace Nichols ISLAND MAN

Island Man (for a Caribbean island man in London who still wakes up to the sound of the sea) Morning and island man wakes up to the sound of blue surf in his head the steady breaking and wombing wild seabirds and fishermen pushing out to sea the sun surfacing defiantly from the east of his small emerald island he always comes back groggily groggily Comes back to sands of a grey metallic soar to surge of wheels to dull North Circular roar muffling muffling his crumpled pillow waves island man heaves himself Another London day Grace Nichols The shape of the poem looks like the skyline of a city.

Island Man (for a Caribbean island man in London who still wakes up to the sound of the sea) Morning and island man wakes up to the sound of blue surf in his head the steady breaking and wombing wild seabirds and fishermen pushing out to sea the sun surfacing defiantly from the east of his small emerald island he always comes back groggily groggily Comes back to sands of a grey metallic soar to surge of wheels to dull North Circular roar muffling muffling his crumpled pillow waves island man heaves himself Another London day Grace Nichols Caribbean Dream ? London Reality ? The poem is split into two parts. They are split by the line “groggily groggily”. The first part is about the Caribbean and the Island Man’s dream. The second part is about his life in London, it is reality.

Morning and island man wakes up to the sound of blue surf in his head the steady breaking and wombing The man has been dreaming about his life in the Caribbean. Wombing is a word associated with motherhood. He feels like a belongs in the Caribbean.

wild seabirds and fishermen pushing out to sea the sun surfacing defiantly from the east of his small emerald island he always comes back groggily groggily The word “emerald” suggests that the island is precious. It is very important to the island man. Nichols uses very natural images to describe the island.

he always comes back groggily groggily The line “groggily groggily” is set off to one side. This suggests that the man is waking up and moving from one location to another.

Comes back to sands of a grey metallic soar to surge of wheels to dull North Circular roar Nichols uses words associated with nature to describe the city. London is described as “grey”. This suggests it is dull and contrasts the island which is described as “blue” and “emerald”.

muffling muffling his crumpled pillow waves island man heaves himself Another London day The word “heaves” suggests that the man is finding it difficult to get out of bed. The last line of the poem is on its own. This suggests that the island man feels isolated in London. The capital letters show the formality of London compared to the Caribbean. The word “another” shows his life his repetitive and boring.