Sad I Ams

By: Trevor Millum

STANZA 1
I am
the ring
from an empty Cola can
the scrapings
from an unwashed porridge pan

Porridge

Scrapings
the severed arm
of last year’s Action Man.

Severed arm
STANZA 2
I am
the envelope
on which the gum is gone

Seal gum
the Sellotape
where you can’t find the end
the toothless stapler,
springless bulldog clip,

Bulldog clip
the dried-up liquid paper
that mars instead of mends

Mars Mend
The stamped addressed reply
that you forgot
to send.
STANZA 3
I am
the battery in which no charge is left
the starter motor which remains inert

Starter motor
 the tyre on which the tread is worn

Worn tread
the sparking plug which shows no sign
of spark
the carburettor choked by bits of dirt
the chromium trim from which the
shine has gone
STANZA 4
I am
a garden
overgrown with weeds
a library book
that no one ever reads
a stray
which no one thinks to feed

A stray cat
the piece of good advice
which no one seems to need
• Four stanzas
• Each stanza with different number of lines
• The poem is about neglecting or discarding
things which are of no use anymore
• The persona compares himself/herself to
various things that are no longer needed
• The speaker in a poem
 Persona in this poem
• No gender mentioned
• Based on comparison made, it can be
assumed that the persona is an elderly person
 THEMES

Being
Feeling
Rejection forgotten or
uselessness
neglected
 MORAL
VALUES

We must show We must try to make

appreciation to those use of old things and
who have once been not throw them away
of use or helpful to us so easily
The end