‘At the Border, 1979’ To practice poetry annotations, focusing on word connotations, techniques, and tone

Context Choman Hardi, born in 1974, is a Kurdish poet with a passionate interest in human stories that spring from the experience of migration. Growing up in Iraq, she twice became a refugee herself, first after her family was forced to flee the country when she was a child and again when she was a teenager. After coming to the UK, she studied psychology and philosophy at Oxford and London Universities. She then completed her PhD research at the University of Kent. She developed a particular interest in how people, particularly widowed women, cope with the effects of genocide. Her broader sympathies, for ordinary people coping in extraordinary times, are expressed throughout her poetry.

What is the Poem About? The poem is set at the border of Iran. The date is 1979, the year that Choman Hardi returned, with her family, to their homeland of Kurdistan, an area to the north of Iraq. The poem is therefore partly autobiographical. The idea of national borders is also something that interests Hardi, Iraq contains the remains of some of the very earliest human cities. The boundaries of the current country, however, were only drawn up in 1920.

‘It is your last check-in point in this country ‘It is your last check-in point in this country!’ We grabbed a drink – soon everything would taste different. The land under our feet continued divided by a thick iron chain. My sister put her leg across it. ‘Look over here,’ she said to us, ‘my right leg is in this country and my left leg in the other.’ The border guards told her off. My mother informed me: We are going home. She said that the roads are much cleaner the landscape is more beautiful and people are much kinder.

Dozens of families waited in the rain Dozens of families waited in the rain. ‘I can inhale home,’ somebody said. Now our mothers were crying. I was five years old standing by the check-in point comparing both sides of the border. The autumn soil continued on the other side with the same colour, the same texture. It rained on both sides of the chain. We waited while our papers were checked, our faces thoroughly inspected. Then the chain was removed to let us through. A man bent down and kissed his muddy homeland. The same chain of mountains encompassed all of us.

At the Border, 1979 Why is crossing over the border such an emotional experience for the adults? Why is ‘continued, divided’ (ll. 4, 5) an effective oxymoron? How is repetition used for effect in stanzas 4 and 6? What is the difference between the mother’s description of ‘home’ and the child’s repetition of the word ‘same’?

Expectations Reality ‘more beautiful’ ‘muddy homeland’

At the Border, 1979 Movement of some kind There is a specific date – this is related to when the poet was five years old. Appears to be current/ a memory at this time – almost like a flashback. Movement of some kind At the Border, 1979 An important time of her life. A specific place Capitalisation of the B suggesting importance. Context: A personal memory describing the crossing over from Iran/Iraq border. The poet is returning to her native country of Kurdistan which is North of Iraq.

Annotation Assessment Answer the following 35 questions in 1-2 sentences Red questions are about specific words and punctuation Purple questions are about techniques Green questions are about imagery and tone

‘It is your last check-in point in this country!’ We grabbed a drink – From whose perspective does the poem start? Why? What does the word “last” suggest about the length of the journey? What if the effect of the exclamation mark? ‘It is your last check-in point in this country!’ We grabbed a drink – soon everything would taste different. What does this word connote? What is the purpose of the caesura? What feeling does it create? What does the word “soon” suggest about the length of the journey? How does this show the anticipation for change? What does this metaphor mean?

The land under our feet continued divided by a thick iron chain. From whose perspective is the poem being told now? What does this oxymoron suggest about the border? The land under our feet continued divided by a thick iron chain. What are the connotations of the phrase “thick iron chain?”

‘my right leg is in this country and my left leg in the other.’ Why is the sister not mentioned by name? What is symbolic of this action? My sister put her leg across it. ‘Look over here,’ she said to us, ‘my right leg is in this country and my left leg in the other.’ The border guards told her off. What is “it?” What is this a reference to? What does it reveal about the sister? What impression/tone does this create?

My mother informed me: We are going home. What does this possessive word reveal about the family relationship? Connotations? My mother informed me: We are going home. She said that the roads are much cleaner the landscape is more beautiful and people are much kinder. What is the purpose of this hyperbole? What technique is used here? For what purpose? What kind of image of Kurdistan does this stanza present?

Dozens of families waited in the rain. What does this desperate act reveal about the families? Connotations of “dozens?” Dozens of families waited in the rain. ‘I can inhale home,’ somebody said. Now our mothers were crying. I was five years old standing by the check-in point comparing both sides of the border.   Meaning of this metaphor? What is the purpose of this emotive image? What does this imply about conflict & war? How does this reveal a child-like thinking?

The autumn soil continued on the other side What does this change of season represent? What does the lack of difference in nature imply about the border? The autumn soil continued on the other side with the same colour, the same texture. It rained on both sides of the chain. What is the purpose of the repetition of “same?” What does the image of rain connote?

We waited while our papers were checked, What is the purpose of using the pronoun “we?” We waited while our papers were checked, our faces thoroughly inspected. Then the chain was removed to let us through. A man bent down and kissed his muddy homeland. The same chain of mountains encompassed all of us. What does this image connote? What is the purpose of the possessive word? What does the metaphor of “chain of mountains” remind you of? What is the purpose of it?