This poem is a lyrical ballad written with a simple rhyme scheme of a-b-c. ab-c.
The poem, as the name suggests is a song where the poet is rejoicing her
relationship with her mother by making use of simple but powerful imagery. It is
important to note that unlike the commemorative poems that are usually
written by Western writers, “Praise for My Mother” does not have a requiem
like elegiac mood. The overall tone of the poem is pleasant.
“Praise Song” is a panegyric on the writerˇs mother. in which she celebrates a
woman who gave her both roots to grow from and wings to fly with. Writing
about her own mother, Nichols once commented that she was a ‘… warm,
intelligent, loving woman who was full of stories, anecdotes and songs from her
own childhood. People loved being around her and I canˇt remember a single
day when our home wasnˇt visited by some friend, neighbour or relative who
had dropped in “just fuh *sic+ minute” but ended up staying hours.ˇ
Starting with the vocabulary, it is vivid but hard-hitting. The writer uses the
images of water, moon and sun- all powerful symbols of nature, to describe her
motherˇs character which shows her strength of personality and the extent of
her love and affection towards her. The red colour of the fishˇs gills is
reminiscent of the maternal love; a break from the clichéd usage of the colour
red in “standard” English literature where the colour is usually associated with
sensuality.
Talking about the lyrical style, a look at the formative years of Grace Nichols in
Guyana may shed some light on her writing and choice of subject. She was born
into a world of books and music. Her father was a head teacher and at home
she was surrounded by books – she was fascinated by the kingdom of books and
language. Her mother used to give piano lessons. The first 8 years of her life that
she spent in a village left an imprint on her that shows in the poem as well; the
rhythm of music and the beat of pan, the call of the fisherman and the fruit
vendor, the odour of mud and salt when she went crab hunting (“the crabˇs
leg”), the whole of the morning sky, the whole of the evening sky, (“sunrise”
and “moonˇs eye”). The poem is also repetitive, 'replenishing replenishing'. The
poet may have opted for this because it brings a sense of childhood as a young
child would repeat words. Nichols wants to use this effect because the
repetitive content relates to a child's attitude, which will then recall the
memories Nichols had of her mother when she was a child.
Food is a very important part of Caribbean culture and tradition. The home-
cooked food is something that does not have any alternative. The writerˇs
memory of her mother is not complete without thinking about or mentioning
the food she used to cook. This intensifies the sacrifice that the writerˇs mother
had to make for her daughterˇs brighter, "Wide futures”. As Nichols once
pointed out,“Like a beacon in London, every now and then I get this craving for
my motherˇs food. I leave art galleries in search of plantains, salt fish, sweet
potatoes; I need this link, I need this touch of home, swinging my bag like a
beacon against the cold.”
Praise song for my mother Fat Black Woman Tropical Death Grace Nichols puts
the image across that the issue of culture is extremely important to her. Through
her poems we understand that she is confused of her identity. When she
moved to London she felt as though she was living in an alien world. Grace
Nichols was longing for a cultural identity in Britain and she tends to describe
Britain negatively and the Caribbean positively. This is why throughout the
poems she applies her own dialect of Creole, which is the official dialect of the
Caribbean. She also uses Creole because she feels as though she should
preserve it. She maintains that her Caribbean language is 'genuinely exciting'
and that Creole's aspects are very vivid which concludes her to believe that
there is no equivalent in the English language.
Nichols has successfully carved a niche for her culture and poetry in the existing
canon of complex poets and poetry by writing in a laymenˇs register. This is a
poetry that everyone can understand and read. This is a poetry that everyone
can identify with. This is the poetry the Nichols has written for her countrymen,
for her mother, for her roots- it is a tribute to her roots back at home. We get a
clear sense of this in ‘Praise Song for My Motherˇ, in which she talks of a mother
who is ‘deep and bold and fathomingˇ and who ‘replenishesˇ her whenever
she needs comfort.