Don't bother with rhyming scheme; she doesn't care. Caesura, repetition, imagery and opposites are your go-to techniques. It could also be worthwhile to google search the author's name together with Philip Larkin; see if any pages come up that investigate their similarities. You're looking for stylistic or genre similarities.
In researching this poem, I found a student analysis that was pretty okay. It's pretty short. Read it, get what you can. It is not the original inspiration for the poem, yet the struggle discussed is applicable within the poem's context.
Mr. Sir had some interesting theories as to the origins of this poem: a figurative mirror to the fall of the Berlin Wall, or maybe the Twin Towers attack of 9/11. Although I still think the IRA ceasefire debacle more likely, the Berlin Wall is a possibility and, as Mr. Sir states on his blog, the poem "equally could relate to any other event that has seen a shift in xenophobic focus". True enough. And in that sense, the poem has a timeless application.
Mr. Sir guesses The Border Builder was written between 1989-2001, and he's right. I found an anthology by the poem's author Carol Rumens, called 'Best China Sky' and it includes this poem. The anthology was published in 1995 and according to the synopsis, "many of these poems were written in Northern Ireland in the year since the ceasefire." Thus began my investigation.
Below are the links I found most useful in the process of exploring the poem's likely origins:
- News article reporting on the IRA ceasefire from a perspective of looking back 20 years ago.
- Northern Ireland's peace process.
(When looking at that last one, remember: the book was published in 1995; we may safely assume anything from late 1995 to the present is not necessary for our research.)
- BBC article, "On This Day". This is their report on the actual day after the 1994 temporary ceasefire, which you will find referenced in the previous link above.
That is also the order in which I suggest you read those links. A google search of "northern ireland ceasefire" will bring up these links and many (MANY) more.
Having said all that, the synopsis from 'Best China Sky' goes on to mention Celtic mythology, Russian poetry from the Cold War, and Belfast's "unexpected balancing act" (which I assume is figurative for the political aftermath of the 1994 IRA ceasefire rather than implying a sudden surge in acrobatic ability). All of which means it's entirely possible that my interpretation is not, after all, the poem's original inspiration. It could be a 1990's interpretation of Thor's origin story.
(No it couldn't. Don't write that.)
Feel free to look up the Cold War, though I feel the references to barbed wire and official documents such as birth certificates and passports are pretty strong indicators that we don't have to delve into Celtic mythology.
Have fun.
- T. Marcus
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