Poems for a World Gone to Sh*t

MelenReviews
Aug 6, 2019
4 min read

Updated: May 19, 2020

Poems for a world gone to sh*t features a collection of poems to make ‘even the most f**ked up times feel better’.

When I first picked up this book I had no idea how much I would enjoy reading the poems picked out and the amount I would laugh. The poems are split into five sections, of which I have picked out a few of my favourite poems from each to recommend.

Section 1: What the F**k?

In this first section most of the poems feel random and odd. This is probably the section that made me laugh the most due to the random and purposefully humorous nature of each text.

My first pick is by an anonymous poet, entitled ‘the pig’. This poem, although only two stanza’s long, follows the well-known idea about stereotypes of people. The speaker of the poem is retelling a memory of a drunken night where he falls over in the mud and a pig comes and lays down next to him. At the end of the poem the speaker mocks himself by saying that even the pig was too good to be in his drunken company.

“’You can tell a man who boozes

By the company he chooses’ –

And the pig got up and slowly walked away.” (anon, ‘the pig’,Poems for a world gone to sh*t,P.19)

Most of the poems in the first section are very abstract and don’t make much sense on the surface level. However, reading between the lines enables a sense of moral and point to become apparent. For example, the two-line poem by Mathew Prior, entitled ‘human life’, on the surface is almost like a thought or phrase that has been spoken. As I read the poem over again, I realised that the statement is true when you break down your routine of everyday life into simple actions. It’s a cycle that everyone has in common no matter your background or way of life.

“What trifling coil do we poor mortals keep;

Wake, eat, and drink, evacuate, and sleep.” (Mathew Prior, ‘human life’, Poems for a world gone to sh*t, P.31)

Section 2: get me the f**k out of here …

In the sections collection of poems, one that stood out to me was ‘the way through the woods’ by Rudyard Kipling. This poem describes how nature has taken back a piece of land that was once a road used to pass through the woods. There is a sense of irony as the speaker is almost mourning the old road through the woods which is contrasted to the wildlife that is described in its place:

“That, where the ring-dove broods,

And the badgers roll at ease,

There was once a road through the woods.” (Rudyard Kipling, ‘the way through the woods’, p.42)

The idea that nature can take back what humans have built over establishes the power of wildlife when, for example, a road is left unused. The speaker being at one with nature is shown in the second stanza, which describes his ventures on a late summer evening. Emphasis on the subtle sounds amongst the trees, e.g., the otters whistle and the beat of a horse’s feet, enable a tranquil atmosphere and serenity within the speaker to become evident, so the listener can understand his serenity within that captured moment.

Section 3: keep your sh*t together

‘I’m nobody! Who are you?’ by Emily Dickinson, uses humour to mock capitalism within society and consumerist culture. The importance of individuality within society is captured through the use of mockery “Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know!” (Emily Dickinson, ‘I’m nobody! Who are you?’, p.79).

From this, it is made apparent that individuality has become something to marvel at as everyone follows trends and consumes the same products, to be different is to stand out. The final line, “To an admiring Bog!” (‘I’m nobody! Who are you?’, p.79) ends the poem on a light-hearted note, as the speaker compares the consumers to pigs, greedy for the next trend. Overall, the poem is humorous, even in today’s society, as consumer culture is still something that drives our society – making this poem very relatable for any reader.

Section 4: let’s do something about this sh*t

Section 4 features poems to enlist a sense of motivation and empowerment within the reader. One of my favourite poems from this section, “new year” by Edith Nesbit, enables the reader to feel empowered with positivity of a fresh start, like we all do at the beginning of a new year and then a few weeks in your resolutions have already been broken. The poem carries a tone of optimism and states, in the final stanza, that even through the person has felt pain and sadness, a fresh start makes them feel happy again due to the speaker taking their grief away from them:

“Bleed my heart out in your service

If, set free from pain,

You, through me, found life worth living,

Glad and fair again.” (Edith Nesbit, ‘new year’, p.103)

Section 5: life is still f**king beautiful

The final section in this book features poems that are very inspirational, all of which carry the lexical group of light and dark, or more specifically, light within the dark. ‘A fine day’ by Katherine Mansfield describes the beauty in everyday life and nature. The poem is centred around the sun, which, due to its warmth and light, gives life to the flowers and birds described by the speaker after dull days of rain. The expression of beauty within little everyday occurrences are more appreciated when the sun is shining - a lift in atmosphere and mood.

“Thank you for the birds, the flowers,

Thank you, sun, for everything.” (Katherine Mansfield, ‘a fine day’, p.121)