Bairn by Imtiaz Dharker

• Bairn by Imtiaz Dharker compares the new hope and wonder brought by the presence of a baby to the freshness of a beautiful snowy morning.
• The poem begins by describing waking up and marvelling at the beauty of nature, appealing to the senses with comments on both the snow and the birdsong.
• It goes on to describe the transforming presence of the baby in the house: how whatever seems dark or wrong with the world has been changed to light or positive feelings because of the love the speaker feels for their baby.
• The speaker ends by commenting on the existence of life-affirming aspects of the world.

This poem explores themes of:

• change and new beginnings
• the power of emotions and relationships
• humanity's connection to nature

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You can read Bairn by Imtiaz Dharker on the Scottish Poetry Library website.

The title of the poem (Bairn) tells us what this poem is about.

‘Bairn’ is a Scottish and Northern English term for a child or baby. The baby is not explicitly mentioned in the poem so the title helps the reader understand who the speaker is addressing.

For example, it is the ‘bairn’ that the speaker talks to when they say:

your first sound, clear note […] your voice / rising into the house

The poem has fifteen lines, split into three stanzas:

• the first two stanzas are made up of seven lines each
• the final stanza contains only one line

It is written in free verse with no specific rhyme scheme or regular rhythm but there is a range of rhythmic and sound effects, which create emphasis and tie ideas together.

There is an underlying iambic rhythm throughout most of the poem, which echoes the gentle rhythm of a child being rocked to sleep.

Some changes to this pattern occur to give emphasis to specific words, which breaks the smooth ‘ti-tum’ flow. (For example, in line seven of the opening stanza, "wiped clean" are two consecutive stressed syllables, also known as a spondee, emphasising this action). Dharker employs spondees for these moments of emphasis through the poem.

You can learn more about stressed/unstressed syllables and rhythm in this Bitesize guide

Dharker also uses repetition of sounds, for example:

• internal rhymes (for example the rhyming of "room" and "bloom" in lines two and three, but not in the typical rhyming position.
• alliteration ("when the world is wrong" in line two of the second stanza)
• assonance ("pace of the day has changed" in line six of the first stanza)

The result of this is the verse has more fluidity than a more strictly regular form, but there are plenty of elements that give it structure.

• Stanza one creates a sense of wonder about the harmony of nature. The natural world is exemplified by snow, early morning light, and birds, which the speaker experiences when waking up.
• Stanza two conveys a sense of the new beginning becoming more personal. There is a contrast between things going wrong in the wider world and the lightness and freshness created by the baby’s voice and presence in the speaker’s home.
• Stanza three ties the ideas together by summing up the impact of life-affirming experiences.

The speaker awakes and describes impressions of a snowy morning, with birdsong outside. There is a sense that something beautiful is coming into being.

They begin by stating emphatically that there is "no way to explain" the wonder of the experience. This is almost a performative contradiction, as by describing the scene, the poem goes some way to explaining it.

The references to "light that rises", "early morning", "bloom of snow" and "slow dawning of white" throughout the opening lines create a feeling of a magical new beginning. The new day, but also the fresh, fallen snow give the impression of innocence and starting again, which is picked up later in the stanza.

from the early morning bloom of snow

The metaphor "bloom of snow" compares the snowfall to a flower, as if the snow itself is blooming, and opening up like a flower. This adds to the feeling of magic, making the snow seem alive.

The speaker is not yet fully awake, as shown and emphasised by the spondee "closed lids", but they can sense this morning marvel, even without looking. The suggestion is that the speaker is so close to nature that they can "feel" morning happening. Perhaps the closed lids are like the petals of a flower opening as it blooms. The connection with nature is continued in the phrase "the body is quick to know". It is as if the speaker is in tune with the world around them, they are coming to life just as the day is. We move with the speaker from being asleep to waking, and this idea is reinforced by the assonance in the sounds in line six:

the pace of the day has changed, the space / wiped clean

The metaphor of "the space / wiped clean" emphasises the idea of nature, and the snow purifying the scene. White is often associated with purity and cleanliness, and here the internal rhyme of "white" and "wiped" highlight that it is the snow performing this task.

The last words of the stanza, "first bird, first song" are stressed (two spondaic feet in a row, or a dispondee), halting the rhythm, almost as if the speaker is pausing to listen. Again the idea of new beginnings is emphasised, along with the repetition of "first".

The general rhythm is iambic in nature, for example:

• "early morning bloom of snow"
• "no way to explain"

so, when a spondee, or even dispondee is included - it gives emphasis and halts this soothing rhythm.

Throughout this stanza, sound effects (such as alliteration and assonance) create echoes rather than full rhymes. This maintains the intimate, fluid quality of the language. Examples include:

• the repetition of "l" sounds in "explain", "light", "early" and "closed lids"
• the alliteration "rises into a room"
• the vowels in "light" and "rises", "closed" and "slow" and "make" and "way"
• a rhyme in "room" and "bloom"
• an end-line rhyme in "snow" and "know"

These effects tie ideas and impressions together to create a sense of harmony and structure, while still keeping the verse flowing in what feels a very natural way.

Stanza two begins with the same words as stanza one:

There is no way to explain

The use of hyperbole and repetition of this line emphasise the strength of the speaker's emotions. Their awe has overcome them to the point that they struggle to find words. This emphatic, definite tone contrasts with the marvel and mystery of the rest of the stanza.

The idea of new beginnings continues, but this time, the transformation is more personal and human. In the second line of the stanza the idea that "even when the world is wrong" is introduced, a shift from the wonder of the opening stanza. The change in mood continues with the repetition "too spent, too old" reinforcing this sense of overwhelming world-weariness. The long vowel sounds slow the pace, emphasising the sense of weariness. However, the tone shifts again to one of hope:

even when the world is wrong, […] it can still be new, renewed

Enjambment highlights the words "wrong" and "renewed" at the ends of lines two and three of this stanza, highlighting the contrast between the wider world and the hope the baby brings.

The echoing vowel sound in "new", "renewed" and "you" links the theme of renewal to the baby. No matter how sickened the speaker is with all the terrible things in the world, the baby brings a life-affirming change to the day, just as the snow was transformative in the opening lines of the poem.

There is further connection between these two ideas as the baby’s voice takes the place of the birdsong from stanza one:

your first sound, clear note / against the dark.

This echoes "first bird, first song" from the first stanza. This time the beautiful "song" is more personal, reinforcing that we have moved from nature outside to humanity inside. The baby’s voice is "against the dark" connecting their presence to light and life. The words "voice rising into the house" create an uplifting feeling, again echoing the "light that rises" in stanza one.

The final line of this stanza directly echoes the line "the pace of the day has changed" from stanza one:

The face of the day is changed

The word "has" from stanza one is replaced with "is" here to create a more definite and emphatic tone. "Pace" is replaced with "face" to turn this into an example of personification. The speaker compares the day to a person, adding to the idea that we have moved from nature to humanity. The changing face suggests a shift in emotion or mood: it is not just "the pace of the day" that has changed since the baby's arrival, they have lifted the speaker's mood.

The final stanza is just one line long, placing emphasis on the idea that the wonder of nature, of a crisp new morning, is tied together with the baby’s life.

There are things that cleanse the heart.

It is a strong metaphorical statement that suggests the firm and lasting positive impact on the speaker’s feelings. The word "cleanse" reinforces the idea that nature’s beauty, and the baby’s arrival, have an impact that purifies and wipes away all bad feeling and soul-sickness.

In stanza three, the speaker uses the metaphor of ‘cleans[ing] the heart’ to describe the impact of the baby's arrival on their life.

Brush up on your knowledge of metaphors with this short Higher English revision video.

The poem demonstrates the impact of positive change on the speaker. Having the baby has transformed their life in the same way that a sunrise changes night into day, or how the landscape can be transformed by a fall of snow. The whole world has become a place of hope and potential, despite any sadness or worries that came before. We can see how one change for the better can impact on every aspect of life:

the face of the day has changed

The theme of new beginnings in nature runs throughout the opening stanza - the dawn of the day, the newly-fallen snow, the "first bird, first song" - and this is echoed in the second stanza by the hope brought by the baby, a new life.

This is a poem about overwhelming love felt by the speaker for their child.

The closeness, happiness and harmony of this love has made the world completely new and different. No matter how troubled or disturbing the world seems, the simple presence of the beloved baby is a protection "against the dark". The power of these emotions and the strength of their bond is something the speaker feels there is "no way to explain", but they attempt to sum up the purifying impact of the baby in the final line:

There are things that cleanse the heart

The poem begins by describing the power of the morning light, falling snow, and birdsong to transform the world. The speaker is intuitively aware of the brightness, even before they are properly awake, suggesting a deep connection between humanity and the natural world.

The speaker’s delight in the beautiful snow and the birdsong shows how important our natural environment is. Their love of nature is compared to the deep devotion felt for their baby. In the second stanza, the baby's voice replaces the birdsong, highlighting that connection between the natural and domestic scenes.

Both Bairn and Bloom deal with the transforming power of parental love. In both cases the speaker demonstrates how the presence of a new baby enlightens their perspective, opening their eyes and hearts to the world around them.

• In Bairn, the arrival of the baby is compared to the magical change brought about by a snowy morning
• In Bloom, the speaker’s realisation of how important the baby really is helps them understand their own relationship with the world around them

The Knot and Stitch also link with Bairn as they take vivid childhood memories as their starting points. In both these poems the speaker is a child remembering an important experience and reflecting on the power of emotions to impact on their lives. Bairn also deals with powerful emotions, but in this case the speaker is the parent, expressing the positive impact of their love for the child.

In Letters to Glasgow, the older lady on the train shows the speaker photographs and reminisces about her family. The sense of love, belonging and connection to something larger than yourself is also evident here, as it is in Bairn, as the passengers on the train are described "as if someone has waited for them too long,/ as if they are love letters, delivered home."

Send this has a more complex relationship with memory and belonging, as the speaker of that poem wants to face the reality of her city, which she remembers well, being transformed. However, as in Bairn, the idea of renewal and change is ultimately hopeful and positive. The rejection of sentimentality and artifice can be read as a real love of the place, no matter how many times it changes and renews itself.

Revise Bairn and other poems by Imtiaz Dharker with interactive quizzes for Higher English.