"Sindhi Woman" by Jon Stallworthy

I enjoy this poem mostly for its message and description.

The description of the first sestet is fluid and flowing. Words such as "undulant," "glides," and "ripple" provide this effect, which brings to mind either the desert wind or an oasis (at least it does for me due to the Middle-Eastern, or possibly Indian, setting). These comparisons are interesting, and each lends a different atmosphere to the poem. Not necessarily a change in mood, but a shift in the "color" of the poem, I guess. That's the best phrasing I have for it. I also thoroughly appreciated the ABBACC rhyme scheme of both sestets: it's an unusual style of rhyme that provides relaxation in the first part of the stanza that pushes forward with rhythmic intensity in the second.

The poem's message is uplifting and at the same time saddening—that the people who hold the most strength are those who have fought against adversity. Struggle has a strong impact on a person's resolve of character, and the speaker, having lived his life of privilege, observes this. (With a name like Stallworthy, I'm inferring the author has not lived in the unindustrialized squalor described and that the speaker is an outsider looking in.)

I was feeling very depressed tonight, and this poem seems to have put my head back on straight. I'm glad I read this.