'The woman speaks to the man who has employed her son' (Part 2)
Beryl Clarke, Contributor

In our discussion last time we stopped after establishing that the 'son' in the poem had no male influence in his childhood and possibly in his youth or part of it. His mother's ambitious dreams are cut short when he becomes a criminal, toting a gun - a submachine gun. Now, this makes me wonder why this is the particular weapon that is chosen. Research will show you that this was, at one time, the type of gun favoured by the military, especially during World War II.

The son, therefore, seems to be involved in a war and we know that soldiers who are in active combat are vulnerable. In other words, they can be killed at any time. This is why his mother makes the preparation she does, for she expects his imminent death. Her concern is heightened by her knowledge that this is not a conventional conflict but that of criminals against society.

Do you know the expression 'knee city' that is used here? The expression is very evocative. It refers to constant prayer, a practice of many Christians or believers in Christ who spend time literally and or metaphorically on their knees, bowing before God as they take their concerns to Him or worship Him with praise and thanksgiving. This action on the mother's part reinforces her lack of human support, her inability to influence the 'employer' or to change her son's behaviour as well as her trust in God. She believes that there is only one useful thing she can do and that is to go to God.

Our culture is very evident in this poem. Here, the 'woman' says psalms for her son and reads psalms for his employer. Jamaicans believe in the efficacy of the psalms. Many of us can quote whole psalms or sections of them, all the while believing that we can get protection from them. Notice that the mother knows enough to say, that is to quote. Why then does she have to read some? What do you think? I am suggesting that those she read were the ones in which the writers had asked for God's punishment on their enemies.

As the stanza continues, we see where she is so very concerned about her son's soul that she cries, for she is aware that his soul is in grave danger. He is, so she believes, a murderer and is destined for eternal damnation. No doubt, she cries with regret and probably pleads for God to help him, for his link with crime to be broken. When she cries over what the man he works for is doing to him, however, it is with a different purpose.

The last verse is full of allusions. It starts with a Biblical reference to Judas Iscariot whose infamous betrayal of Jesus has guaranteed him a place in history. She compares herself to Judas' mother. Imagine how she must have felt - the pain, the shame, the disappointment at her son's deed! The mother in our poem claims similar feelings. She speaks of being in a 'partner' with Judas' mother and the mother of the thief on the left-hand side of the cross, acknowledging that these three mothers have lost all that they had invested in their sons.

For her, it is worst than for the other women, for she had invested her all. She had given her son everything she had as she was playing the roles of both mother and father. It is fitting, therefore, for the poem to close with the one-word allusion 'Absalom'. Yes, you may ask why and I will now send you to read about King David and his son, Absalom, in the Bible.

It is not my intention to spoil things for you by telling you the story of this father and son. It is enough to say that if you consider the mother's position and her attitude to the circumstances in which she finds herself, you will have an idea of why she makes this allusion.

In the beginning of The Woman Speaks to the Man Who Has Employed her Son, the tone is conversational and the mood, while not happy, is buoyant. This doesn't last, though, for it soon deteriorates into disappointment and grief. The mood of hopelessness soon becomes evident and is underscored by a lurking sense of sadness and tragic acceptance.

It is easy to lose one's way, if one does not have or does not accept good guidance. Take care and God bless!

Beryl Clarke is an independent contributor. Send questions and comments to kerry-ann.hepburn@gleanerjm.com