OFFERINGS, Hilary Tham

The title of the poem is "Offerings", written by Hilary Tham. From reading the title I expect the poem be about some offers. The title raises curiosity in the reader he would like to know to who are the offers.

The poem is made up of four stanzas, organized into quatrains, but the last stanza has five lines (because it closes the poem). Each stanza is divided in the different and the time of the day (at sunrise, at midday, at sunset and at midnight). They describe all they, from the morning up to night. The first lines of each stanza explain what the writer do for her/his love (I came to you, I danced to you, I crept to you, I strode to you). Each of them started with the subject "I". The second and the third lines of each stanza take into consideration all that the writer do for her/his love, all the offers. The second lines started with the conjunction "with", while the third (not in the forth stanza) with the verb in gerund (sparkling, flaming, trembling). The last lines of the first three stanzas explain to the reader that the love one refuses and wipes out all the offers he/she receives (flowers, blossoms, petals). These lines started with the word "you". All the verbs are in the simple past because create an idea of something that is totally finished.

In the first stanza the reader understands that the protagonist gets up for the love one early with silvery dew on sleeping lotus. His/her first thought is her/him. "Sparkling in my gay hands" means that he/she holds all his/her feelings in the hands and he/she would offer them to beloved. The love one put the flowers in the sun, thus the silvery dew melts down together the writer's feelings.

In the second stanza the writer reproves to go at the beloved with other offers, but the love one refutes again his/her love. The second stanza is similar at the third because both the stanzas express the demonstration of the love to her/him. In the third line of the third stanza the reader understands that the writer want to kiss her/him but he/she is not sure to do it ("uncertain lips"). The last line explain to the reader that the love one refuses his/her kiss. He/she disappoint the writer and dashes all the writer's hopes.

The last stanza express the last possibility that the protagonist gives to her/his lover, like last hope. The lover offers the writer his/her hybrid orchids, something of mixed, of uncertain; thus the poet decides to crush them in despair. He/she remains disappointed from the person that he/she loved.