The eyeless labourer in the night
the selfless, shapeless seed I hold,
builds for its resurrection day-
silent and swift and deep from sight
foresees the unimagined light.
This is no child with a child's face;
this has no name to name it by;
yet you and I have known it well.
this is the hunter and our chase,
the third who lay in our embrace.
This is the strength that your arm knows,
the arc of flesh that is my breast,
the precise crystals of our eyes.
This is the blood's wild tree that grows
the intricate and folded rose.
This is the maker and the made;
this is the question and reply;
the blind head butting at the dark,
the blaze of light along the blade.
Oh hold me, for I am afraid.
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satire on Malechavanism
From guest Dinesh (contact)
This poem is a perfect satire on the malechavanistic society.This is a poem which can be comprehened only when we relate it with the title WOMAN TO MAN. -
woman to man
The woman in the poem is not talking about the couple's third child! The conceived child is the third person in the embrace. As in the old saying "You and me and baby makes three". -
woman to man
From guest Linda Wilson (contact)
I love this poem..we studied it at school...my sister loved it too -
From guest ben gatfield (contact)
i love old poetry and that's why i LOVED this poem. it turned me on slightly... slghtly, not too much but a little bit. love It lol! (arousing) -
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Poem of Conflicting emotions
From guest Zelina (contact)
I believe that this poem is the expression of all of the conflicting emotions that a pregnant woman would feel during a pregnancy, love, concern, joy and fear as well. Fear is understandable when you are considering child birth because you have to remember that it is in fact a dangerous process for the mother and child, especially the birth its self which is where I believe that fear comes into the poem, towards the end, of the poem and of the pregnancy. This poem is a beautiful representation of a magical time in a womans life. -
the poem
From guest year 11 english 2007 (contact)
Hi Excellent use of imagery. We were slightly daunted by it. The comparison of having sex and giving birth is absurd. the target audience is obviously not school age people as we are, thats why we find the content disturbing and a big turn off to child birth!!! we normally picture child birth and getting pregnant as something that we would look forward to and that we find special and beautiful. but this way of desicribing the whole experience is very confronting. -
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Woman to Man
From guest Caitlin (contact)
I belive that this poem is about the physical side of love, not using words to love another but touch and the senses to provoke and posses. Its a declaration between two people. -
This is Woman to Man
From guest Ellen Clare (contact)
I think she is talking about life that is already growing inside her not the conception itself. Sure she refers to it, but I think this is about more that a moment. This sounds like it is about two lives that are converging (Past & Present)and creating something bigger than themselves. She also mentions that it is their 3rd child and she is still scared.(she reveals a human frailty) This poem is well written and holds more meaning then can be put into words. That is the gift of a skilled poet to make us feel the unwritten. She has served us readers well. -
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from guest vasisht-Bhargavi
This poem is about the beautiful god's gift of giving birth to a child. Where the maker is God and the made is child. And in labour how a woman needs a man's support and how they by their labour add to society. -
From guest Ashley-Marie (contact)
I dont believe its about abortion. This poem is about reading between the lines. "Shapeless seed I hold" refers to the unborn child she is wanting to have. It is about conception and the desire to share that with her significant other. It is beautiful,, ash -
gr8 poem
i like this poem it makes me feel just how she must have felt -
women to man
From guest aimee (contact)
this poem mekes me feel unsure. i believe the women is afraid of the unknown, the fear of bringing a child into such a hostile world, she is scared. This child binds the special connection between her and the father but what shall happen if something goes wrong? Its a powerful poem, i like it but it took me a while to understand. -
WoW
From guest Taryn (contact)
that was one of the best poems that I have ever heard it's like she describes he love for one man and how she loves that she's baring his child like it's the most marvolouse wonderful things that could happen in one's life like this describes the love of all love this should be the poem that explains what love should be about -
Assignment.
From guest Mr. Student (contact)
I am doing a school assignment on this. I love this poem, it is amazing. Beautiful poet. -
judith wright poem woman to man
From guest susan (contact)
i think this poem is about the moment of the conception of a child. this is a beautiful, powerful and passionate moment between a woman a man, but i also think that it is about the scariness and pain of actually giving birth, and that even though the creation of a child is an incredible thing, it is also painful. -
like many of Wrights poems she ends with fear "Hold me for i am afraid" yes this could be about pregnacy and it could be about abortion. However i also believe that this peice could be speaking about the spiritual conction of love between wright and her husban. As in marriage the two become one and there is a spiritual conection that takes place "no name to name it by, yet you and i have known it well." i think this is another one of wrights beautifal poems to her husband that show the wonderfull meanings of love and marrage.
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The poem is one of beauty, it goes through the crucial stages of pregnancy and conception. The poem shows love and the delight of having a 'third' between a couple. The unborn child brings the author and the father together through their shared anxiety and wonder. Overall compelling,the use of 'seed' is symbolic of the new beginning to which holds an unshaped future.
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I had to read it three times, then read the title again, think for a while read again then i understood, I feel it is about a man and a woman, her with child their third.a child with his strength and her flesh, a young rose coming to blossom. A very insightful poem with deep thought, beautiful,
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i think this is a powerful piece of writing that expresses the intense and tangled feelings of abortion. i think its brilliant
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i thnk it is a justification against abortion. It speaks to women who may wish tihave one, scared to take on the responsibility. The poem shows them the value of a child. Beautiful
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This piece is about a scared woman going through the stages of her pregnancy and being unsure of the birth, and the aftermath of the birth of the child. If you read it over you get the feel of the sadness and also the anxiety the woman is feeling. The last line of the poem brings the poem the ending it needed. You need to fully understand this piece to fully appreciate it.
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This is definately a weird piece, dowsn't really speak volumes but there is the feeling of someone running scared, not just by one thing but I think their life, maybe the third pregnancy but none so far have survived, I don't really like this, but it is quite good............
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To me this speaks of life, and the creation thereof. It speaks of the act, and it consequence. Or perhaps more aptly called it's effect. It could also be interpreted as the third being as love itself, a shadowless form that connects the lovers. If it speaks of a child, it is one not yet born, name-less, faceless, but ever present. If a man was to hug a pregnant woman the child would be captured in their embrace. If it speaks of the less tangible love, the third stanza makes more sense. I could simply be wrong with both theories, of course...
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Kind of a scary piece I feel. Not a boo-HA scary, but, a scary creepy feeling one. I don't know. I didn't get much from this piece other than that. I don't really care too much for it, nor do I hate it, I'm, I guess inbetween as I am on some pieces.
It's nice, but, not my keg of beer.
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I was fascinated by the rhyming scheme - abcaa, but that was about it. The poem itself was very vague and while there were beautiful images and eloquent phrases the final product didn't make much sense to me. Rather upsetting because I can feel much deepness to this poem and I will have to come back again and again until I've fully grasped the meaning of this piece.
~Anastasia
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