Notes by Muhammad Azam, Shaheen Academy, G-6-1-3, Islamabad

1. IN THE STREET OF FRUIT STALLS
Wicks balance flame, a dark dew falls
In the street of fruit stalls’
Melon, guava, mandarin,
Pyramid-piled like cannon balls,
Glow red-hot, gold-hot from within
Reference: These verses have been taken from the poem “In the Street of Fruit Stalls” By
Jan Stallworthy.
Context: In this Poem, the Jan Stallworthy has reflected dark and harsh reality of life
through death and destruction caused by war, poverty and miseries of life. But all these
sufferings have failed to crush man’s love for pleasure. He still searches for delight in the
short sweetness of life just like the children, who enjoy the sweet spray of juice forgetting
all about the misery of life they live in. These children are too innocent to comprehend the
dark and harsh reality of life.
Explanation: In this first stanza, the poet has used the dark imagery “dark dew falls”. He
has portrayed evening time with dark and grim future inflicted by war in the street of fruit
stalls, where various fruits are piled up in a conical form like pyramid. The imagery of fruits
is symbolizing both pleasure and misery. Pleasure in the sense that they are in variety,
having sweet taste and colour yet at the same time symbolizing the cannon balls likely to be
used in war. They reflect hot, red and golden colours, which in dim light appear like bombs.
The whole world is engulfed in the darkness of war, misery and poverty. The same darkness
is found in the fruit street. War and its horrors have shattered the human psychology to
such an extent that different kinds of fruits look like bombs. In the dim light of lanterns
they glow red hot or appear gold hot.
Dark Children with a coin to spend
Enter the lantern’s orbit; find
Melon, guava, mandarin-
The moon compacted to a rind
The sun in a pitted skin
Explanation :Here in this stanza, the poet has used the word “ Dark Children”, which
reflect that the poor children with innocent hopes and dark future find pleasure in these
fruits like melon, guava and other fruits. They innocently hold a coin standing in the light
lanterns. For them this is the only hope and pleasure of life to buy and enjoy the taste of
various fruits.
Dark children symbolize insignificant of human life in the eyes of those who wage
war and bring about misery to fellow humans.
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The situation is so grim that the moon and the sun have failed to perform their normal
functions as a result of which darkness and gloom have enveloped the world. In spite of all
this man’s love for pleasure is still an integral part of his nature. The children are oblivious
of their miserable living conditions. They buy different fruits and eat with relish. The juices
wet all parts of their faces. The condition of the poet is, however, different. He feels sad at
the present situation and has serious concern about the future.
They take it, break it open, let
A gold or silver fountain wet
Mouth, fingers, cheek, nose, chin:
Radiant as lanterns, they forget
The dark street I am standing in.
Explanation: They buy the fruit and break it open they tasty juice runs down their cheeks
lips and stick to their hands. For them the pleasure is cheap and they are unaware of the
war going on, harsh realities of life and grim future, where man is man’s enemy and which
is also disturbing the poet.
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