can u please share ur interpretation..?

Question

i need to know the meaning of this coz' i am assigned to report this in class... please help me because i'm really slow minded in interpreting Poems.. THanks in advance


Dream of Knives
Alfred Yuson

Last night I dreamt of a knife
I had bought for my son. Of rare design,
it went cheaply of its worth – short dagger
with fancily rounded pommel, and a wooden sheath
which miraculously revealed other miniature blades.

Oh how pleased he would be upon my return
from this journey, I thought. What rapture
will surely adorn his ten-year princeling's face
when he draws the gift the first time. What quivering
pleasure will most certainly be unleashed.

When I woke up, there was no return, no journey,
no gift, and no son beside me. Where do I search
for this knife then, and when do I begin to draw
happiness from reality, and why do I bleed so
from such sharp points of dreams?

Answer 1

Yes dear, I can share my interpretation.
I can try to assist you. The speaker dreamt about a wonderful knife that he "had bought for my son." A knife "Of rare design" and it was not as expensive as it could be, "it went cheaply of its worth." It had a short dagger "with fancily rounded pommel, and a wooden sheath/
which miraculously revealed other miniature blades." In other words, it had a pretty wooden container which also showed/revealed small blades (small sharp cutting edges).
This was the gift the speaker intended for the son. The rest of the poem he reflects how the son will be mesmerized by this wonderful knife, how happy the son would be and how the ten-year son's face would be decorated as excitement overcomes him, "What quivering
pleasure will most certainly be unleashed."
And here is the anti-climax: He was dreaming, remember that?
Now he suddenly awakes and realizes he has no son he realizes, he cannot return to the place with the knife, he cannot return to the dream nor return to the journey where he was, he cannot retrieve the gift for his son, "When I woke up, there was no return, no journey,/no gift, and no son beside me." But still he is baffled. He longs to give his son the gift but "Where do I search/for this knife then"? He wonders! It is plain that his dream gave him a false sense of reality and in a metaphorical sense, the dream used the knife to pierce him so that now he bleeds because of the sharp blades "why do I bleed so/from such sharp points of dreams." Significantly, he does not even have a son!!
Dont you now see the point of the poem! Life itself is like a dream deferred. We make promises, we nurse a lot of dreams about what we would wish to do for our loved ones but by crude and rude turn of events, our dreams keep on escaping us!!

Read the links below to get more about the Philippino poet. I guess you may also gather more from the local language of the sites.

Good luck.

Answer 2

She wants to see her son happy but hes growing up so fast (and perhaps he's not even around any more ) and she wants to get him a manly gift like a new knife (so practical).
But she cant and it hurts her that she's not adequate so she cries (bleeds)
All Because of those dreams , darn them!

Be Blessed hope this is something you can think about
see my links for an occasional good answer on poems and other matters

Jon

Answer 3

To me, this is about the need for a lineage. He yearns for a young son that he can pass down his intricate knowledge of worldly things to. He wants it so badly that it is in his dreams. Yet, the dreams are bizarre in that they are more about the knife than the boy.

Answer 4

Can dream kill?
If so then he will surely bleed to death,when its a knife he dreamed.
If so then he will surely be blown to death if its a gun or tsunami that he dreamed.
Such is the power of dreams.
So never dream.
Get real.