Flowers For Grandmother Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABAC DEAF GHIJ KLLA MLHL NLLO APGQ LRLS TUHV WXHY ZA2L HA2B2C2 D2E2AA F2G2H2I2 AGLJ2 K2LAL2J2M2MN2 UJ2HO2 LLLN2

I came to the cemetery in the hazy heat of autumnA
where the crosses creak as they splitB
to my grandmother Maria IosefovnaA
and bought flowers at the gateC
-
In the era of silent movies Grandmother's braidsD
were formed into a tight wreathE
and neighbor ladies in the smoke filled kitchenA
called her the CommissarF
-
My grandmother beat me very littleG
A shame that her hand grew tired of beatingH
for in the opinion of a bathhouse attendantI
I deserved nothing but boiling waterJ
-
I teased her cat in utter blissK
to be sure no one called me a sissyL
I swapped her eight volumes of historyL
for three volumes of Man and WomanA
-
A great soccer game was at handM
Yugoslavia versus the USSRL
I filched her gold wedding ringH
after hiding secretly in the chiffonierL
-
And that ring heavy and reddishN
from Grandfather's finger who is no moreL
got into the clutches of a speculatorL
for a mere standing room ticketO
-
My grandmother Maria IosefovnaA
by merely biting the edge of her lipP
so chilled the soup on the tableG
it was covered with Siberian iceQ
-
In front of a Robert Taylor posterL
back in ration card timesR
she slipped on the ice by the bakeryL
and lost consciousnessS
-
And with two fingers raisedT
white faced like the Old Believer MorozovaU
she repeated only one thingH
'Be thou accursed ' and I wasV
-
Hiding behind the primus stove I thoughtW
that Grannie for sure from spiteX
only pretended to be dyingH
She punished me and diedY
-
To the neighbor's record Rio RitaZ
she fixed her stare straight upA2
and all the relatives implored meL
'Confess Confess Confess '-
-
They continued to curse without stoppingH
from right and left I was fed upA2
But Grandmother's curseB2
alone stuck in my heartC2
-
And the ring staring through the loamy soilD2
torments avenges and glitters from out of the bonesE2
Remove your curse from me GrannieA
don't be sorry for me but for my childrenA
-
The guilty gentle flowers IF2
place on the grave in silenceG2
It never enters my mindH2
that their stems are suspiciously shortI2
-
By the small gray gravestoneA
knowing all that goes on with peopleG
Mother whispers so Grandmother won't hearL
They steal flowers for resale here Break the stemsJ2
-
All of us are caught up in resaleK2
Perhaps I had brought as my gestureL
flowers whose stems had once been brokenA
but which had been cut clean at the breakL2
It makes one shudder in the subway or on a trolleybusJ2
to see a couple cheek to cheekM2
with all the stems in the young girl's happy handM
covered with cemetery clayN2
-
All broken stems get cut offU
and in the shadow of departed shadowsJ2
tragic is the sale of sufferingH
but the resale is yet more tragicO2
-
If there is a tiny mercenary dropp in meL
then I don't belong to my familyL
Put a curse on me once more GrandmotherL
and never take that curse awayN2

Yevgeny Yevtushenko



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