Women at Munition Making

By Ashley Higgins
 Gaining nourishment for the thoughts to be,
Are bruised against the law

 Their hands should minister unto the flame ‘Kill, kill’.

They must take part in defacing and
of life, destroying the natural body
Their fingers guide Which, certainly during this dispensation
The rosy teat, swelling with milk, Is the shrine of the spirit.
To the eager mouth of the suckling babe     O God!
Or smooth with tenderness, Throughout the ages we have seen,
Softly and soothingly,     Again and again
The heated brow of the ailing child.     Men by Thee created
Or stray among the curls     Cancelling each other.
Of the boy or girl, thrilling to mother love. And we have marvelled at the seeming
    But now, annihilation
Their hands, their fingers     Of Thy work.
Are coarsened in munition factories. But this goes further,
Their thoughts, which should fly     Taints the fountain head,
Like bees among the sweetest mind flowers Mounts like a poison to the Creator’s very
heart.
    O God!
Must It anew be sacrificed on earth?
 Structure and Form Gaining nourishment for the thoughts to be,
Are bruised against the law
Their hands should minister unto the flame of ‘Kill, kill’.
life, They must take part in defacing and
Their fingers guide destroying the natural body
The rosy teat, swelling with milk, Which, certainly during this dispensation
To the eager mouth of the suckling babe Is the shrine of the spirit.
Or smooth with tenderness,     O God!
Softly and soothingly, Throughout the ages we have seen,
The heated brow of the ailing child.     Again and again
Or stray among the curls     Men by Thee created
Of the boy or girl, thrilling to mother love.     Cancelling each other.
    But now, And we have marvelled at the seeming
Their hands, their fingers annihilation
Are coarsened in munition factories.     Of Thy work.
Their thoughts, which should fly But this goes further,
Like bees among the sweetest mind     Taints the fountain head,
flowers Mounts like a poison to the Creator’s very
heart.
Repetition of the word “their” and “they” emphasises a     O God!
detachment from the role of women. Must It anew be sacrificed on earth?
One large stanza, which reads like a story rather than
poetry.
Use of short phrases on indented lines for emphasis
 Moral/Meaning/Message Gaining nourishment for the thoughts to be,
Are bruised against the law
Their hands should minister unto the flame of ‘Kill, kill’.
life, They must take part in defacing and
Their fingers guide destroying the natural body
The rosy teat, swelling with milk, Which, certainly during this dispensation
To the eager mouth of the suckling babe Is the shrine of the spirit.
Or smooth with tenderness,     O God!
Softly and soothingly, Throughout the ages we have seen,
The heated brow of the ailing child.     Again and again
Or stray among the curls     Men by Thee created
Of the boy or girl, thrilling to mother love.     Cancelling each other.
    But now, And we have marvelled at the seeming
Their hands, their fingers annihilation
Are coarsened in munition factories.     Of Thy work.
Their thoughts, which should fly But this goes further,
Like bees among the sweetest mind     Taints the fountain head,
flowers Mounts like a poison to the Creator’s
very heart.
Women's role is to remain at home looking after     O God!
children. Must It anew be sacrificed on earth?
A women's role was swapped and morphed into a new
brutal form of work.
The soldiers are the creation of god and seen now as
sacrifice.
 Language Gaining nourishment for the thoughts to be,
Are bruised against the law
Their hands should minister unto the flame of ‘Kill, kill’.
life, They must take part in defacing and
Their fingers guide destroying the natural body
The rosy teat, swelling with milk, Which, certainly during this dispensation
To the eager mouth of the suckling babe Is the shrine of the spirit.
Or smooth with tenderness,     O God!
Softly and soothingly, Throughout the ages we have seen,
The heated brow of the ailing child.     Again and again
Or stray among the curls     Men by Thee created
Of the boy or girl, thrilling to mother love.     Cancelling each other.
    But now, And we have marvelled at the seeming
Their hands, their fingers annihilation
Are coarsened in munition factories.     Of Thy work.
Their thoughts, which should fly But this goes further,
Like bees among the sweetest mind     Taints the fountain head,
flowers Mounts like a poison to the Creator’s very
heart.
Archaic Language makes it seem prayer-like and     O God!
refers to god. Must It anew be sacrificed on earth?
“We” refers to all the women in general; first time she
includes herself.
No use of the word soldiers, just the word “men” or as
a sacrifice.
 Emotive Response Gaining nourishment for the thoughts to be,
Are bruised against the law
Their hands should minister unto the flame of ‘Kill, kill’.
life, They must take part in defacing and
Their fingers guide destroying the natural body
The rosy teat, swelling with milk, Which, certainly during this dispensation
To the eager mouth of the suckling babe Is the shrine of the spirit.
Or smooth with tenderness,     O God!
Softly and soothingly, Throughout the ages we have seen,
The heated brow of the ailing child.     Again and again
Or stray among the curls     Men by Thee created
Of the boy or girl, thrilling to mother love.     Cancelling each other.
    But now, And we have marvelled at the seeming
Their hands, their fingers annihilation
Are coarsened in munition factories.     Of Thy work.
Their thoughts, which should fly But this goes further,
Like bees among the sweetest mind     Taints the fountain head,
flowers Mounts like a poison to the Creator’s very
heart.
Feelings are damaged.     O God!
Feels female responsibility for killing of Must It anew be sacrificed on earth?
soldiers.
God is being hurt and she wants it to stop.