Form 3 Poem: The Day the Bulldozers Came David Orme | Themes & Moral values|

The day the bulldozers came

Rooks were building
Crazy egg baskets in the oaks;
Green flies sizzled by the pond
And a cold-eyed toad
Waited for them.

The day the bulldozers came

Squirrels were scattering
Up tree trunks,
And leapt from branches
That were hardly there.

The fox
Stirred in his sleep
As the ground trembled.
Ha ha! he thought,
Im quite safe,
Deep down in the Earth,
No one can get me here.
Then the bulldozer came.

Meaning of the Stanza

Poem Meaning
Stanza

The day the bulldozers came

Rooks were building

Crazy egg baskets in the oaks;
Stanza 1 Green flies sizzled by the pond
And a cold-eyed toad
When the bulldozers came to the forest, Rooks (a type of bird) were making
nests (egg baskets) in oak trees.
Green flies were buzzing around the pond while a toad was waiting to eat
them.

Waited for them.

 The day the bulldozers came
Squirrels were scattering

Up tree trunks, When the bulldozers came to the forest, squirrels were scared and they were
Stanza 2 running up the trees. They tried to leap from branch to branch, but the tree
And leapt from branches branches were no longer there. The bulldozers had knocked them down.

That were hardly there.

The fox
Stirred in his sleep

As the ground trembled.

Ha ha! he thought,
The fox woke up from his nap but he went back to sleep. He felt the ground
Stanza 3 Im quite safe, shake but he thought he was safe deep down in the foxhole. However, the
bulldozers came and dug him out of the soil!
Deep down in the Earth,

No one can get me here.

Then the bulldozer came.

Themes:
1. Destruction of nature

The bulldozers are designed to knock down trees and flatten lands for development. However this
has resulted in the destruction of nature. Many trees are knocked down. Animals lose their home
and have no where to go.

2. Change is inevitable
Life is always changing. Change cannot be avoided. For example, the bulldozers are invented to
replace the animals and help human to develop new lands.

3. Alertness
It is important to be alert to our surroundings. For example, the fox believes that as long as he
hides in the hole, he will be safe. However he does not realize that the change that humans make
is now able to harm him even though he is deep in the ground. He needs to be alert so that he can
survive the change.

4. Disruption of life
The lives of the animals in the forest are disrupted by humans activities. For example, the
bulldozers knock down the tree branches where the squirrels live. The bulldozers also disrupt the
home of the foxes by digging up the foxholes.

Moral values:
 1. We should be alert to any threats and changes around us.
2. We should be ready to face changes.
3. We should respect the nature and the animals that depend on it.
4. We should protect flora and fauna and the only Earth we have.
5. We should understand that development projects can bring harm to the nature.

oem: Poisoned Talk By Raymond Wilson | Meanings, Themes & Moral values|
Who killed cock robin?
I, said the worm,
I did him great harm.
He died on the branch of a withered tree
From the acid soil that poisoned me..

Who killed the heron?

I, mouthed the fish,
With my tainted flesh
I killed tern, duck and drake,
All the birds of the lake.

Who killed the lake?

I, boasted Industry,
I poisoned with mercury
Fish, plant and weed
To pamper mens greed.

Who killed the flowers?

I, moaned the wind,
I prowl unconfined,
Blowing acid rain
Over field, flood and fen.

Who killed the forest?

I ensured that it died,
Said sulphur dioxide.
And all life within it,
from earthworm to linnet.

Meaning of Stanza

Number Stanza Meaning

 Who killed cock robin? The worm said the acid soil poisoned
I, said the worm, it and now it had poisoned cock robin
1 I did him great harm. after the bird ate the worm
He died on the branch of a
withered tree
From the acid soil that poisoned
me..

Who killed the heron? The fish said its poisoned flesh killed
2 I, mouthed the fish, all the birds of the lake.
With my tainted flesh
I killed tern, duck and drake,
All the birds of the lake

Who killed the lake? Industry (factories) said it poisoned

3 I, boasted Industry,
I poisoned with mercury
Fish, plant and weed
To pamper mens greed.
the lake with mercury. All fish, plants
and weed died because men polluted
the lake.

Who killed the flowers?
4 I, moaned the wind,
I prowl unconfined,
Blowing acid rain
Over field, flood and fen.
The wind said it killed the flowers
because it blowed acid rain over field,
flood and fen.

Who killed the forest? Sulphur dioxide (from cars and

5 I ensured that it died, factories) said it killed the forest and
Said sulphur dioxide. everything that lived in the forest
And all life within it,
from earthworm to linnet.

Themes :

Environmental Pollution
Men are willing to destroy our mother nature for more money and power. The factories, cars, and other
vehicles release poisonous gas and substances like mercury. This pollutes the lake and the flora and fauna in
it.

Destruction of nature

Nature has flora and fauna. They affect one another. When the lake gets polluted, the fish that lives in it will
get poisoned. When the birds eat the fishes, the birds get poisoned. Also, if the wind is polluted, it brings the
poisonous gas everywhere; all plants will wither and die. In the end, it destroys our mother nature.

Moral Values :
We must be responsible for the things we do.
We must take actions to stop pollutions.
We must respect nature.
We must appreciate the Earth.
We must not be too greedy (for money and power)
We must protect our environment