"Blessing" appears in Imtiaz Dharker's collection Postcards from God (1997). It depicts the sudden bursting of a water pipe in a neighborhood where water is scarce. As a shower of municipal water rains down, the surrounding residents run to cool off under it and gather it in containers. Though the scene is communal and joyful, it's also "frantic" and a little disturbing: the "sudden / rush of fortune" highlights the mass deprivation that it has only briefly relieved. Inspired by the Dharavi neighborhood of Mumbai, India, the poem is both a community snapshot and a comment on inequality and climate change.

• Read the full text of “Blessing”

• “Blessing” Summary

• “Blessing” Themes

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    Scarcity, Poverty, and Desperation

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-23

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Blessing”

  • Lines 1-2

    The skin cracks ...
    ... is enough water.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 3-6

    Imagine the drip ...
    ... a kindly god.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 7-12

    Sometimes, the sudden ...
    ... a congregation:

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 12-17

    every man woman ...
    ... frantic hands,

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 18-23

    and naked children ...
    ... their small bones.

    

    

    

    

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• “Blessing” Symbols

  • 

    Water

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “There never is enough water.”
    • Lines 3-6: “Imagine the drip of it, / the small splash, echo / in a tin mug, / the voice of a kindly god.”
    • Lines 7-11: “Sometimes, the sudden rush / of fortune. The municipal pipe bursts, / silver crashes to the ground / and the flow has found / a roar of tongues.”
    • Line 19: “screaming in the liquid sun,”
    • Lines 22-23: “as the blessing sings / over their small bones.”

• “Blessing” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “The skin cracks like a pod.”
    • Lines 3-6: “Imagine the drip of it, / the small splash, echo / in a tin mug, / the voice of a kindly god.”
    • Lines 7-8: “Sometimes, the sudden rush / of fortune.”
    • Line 19: “the liquid sun”
    • Line 20: “their highlights polished to perfection,”
    • Lines 22-23: “as the blessing sings / over their small bones.”

  • Imagery

    

    

    

    

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    Where imagery appears in the poem:

    • Line 1
    • Lines 3-5
    • Lines 8-21
    • Line 23

  • Juxtaposition

    

    

    

    

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    Where juxtaposition appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-23

  • Consonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where consonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “skin cracks like”
    • Line 2: “never,” “enough”
    • Line 4: “small splash”
    • Line 7: “Sometimes,” “sudden”
    • Line 8: “municipal pipe,” “bursts”
    • Line 10: “flow,” “found”
    • Line 12: “man,” “woman”
    • Line 13: “streets”
    • Line 14: “butts,” “pots”
    • Line 15: “brass,” “copper”
    • Line 16: “plastic buckets,”
    • Line 17: “frantic hands”
    • Line 18: “naked”
    • Line 19: “screaming,” “liquid”
    • Line 20: “highlights polished,” “perfection”
    • Line 21: “flashing light”
    • Line 22: “blessing,” “sings”
    • Line 23: “small,” “bones”

  • Assonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where assonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 3: “Imagine,” “drip,” “it”
    • Line 5: “in,” “tin”
    • Line 7: “Sometimes,” “sudden rush”
    • Line 11: “From,” “huts”
    • Line 14: “pots”
    • Line 15: “copper”
    • Line 17: “frantic hands”
    • Line 20: “highlights”
    • Line 21: “light”
    • Line 23: “over,” “bones”

• “Blessing” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • Pod
  • Municipal pipe
  • Congregation
  • Aluminium
  • Highlights
  • (Location in poem: Line 1: “The skin cracks like a pod.”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Blessing”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Blessing” Speaker

• “Blessing” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Blessing”

• More “Blessing” Resources

  • External Resources

    • The Poem Aloud — Imtiaz Dharker introduces and reads her poem.

    • An Interview with the Poet — Dharker discusses her life and work.

    • Dharker at the Poetry Archive — A short biography and exhibit about the poet.

    • The Author's Website — Check out Imtiaz Dharker's personal website, featuring media coverage, the poet's visual art, and more.

    • Water Scarcity and Climate Change — "Blessing" describes a problem that afflicts many communities worldwide. Read an NPR report about water shortages in the Global South.

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by Imtiaz Dharker

    • Living Space

    • Tissue

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