By Seamus Heaney.
I sat all morning in the college sick bay
Counting bells knelling classes to a close.
At two o'clock our neighbours drove me home.
In the porch I met my father crying -
He had always taken funerals in his stride -
And Big Jim Evans saying it was a hard blow.
The baby cooed and laughed and rocked the pram
When I came in, and I was embarrassed
By old men standing up to shake my hand
And tell me they were 'sorry for my trouble',
Whispers informed strangers I was the eldest,
Away at school, as my mother held my hand
In hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs.
At ten o'clock the ambulance arrived
With the corpse, stanched and bandaged by the nurses.
Next morning I went up into the room. Snowdrops
And candles soothed the bedside; I saw him
For the first time in six weeks. Paler now,
Wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple,
He lay in the four foot box as in his cot.
No gaudy scars, the bumper knocked him clear.
A four foot box, a foot for every year.
The poem "Mid Term Break" by Seamus Heaney is a moving reflection on the death of a young boy, the speaker's younger brother. The poem begins with the speaker waiting in the sick bay of his college, counting the bells that signal the end of classes, until he is driven home by his neighbors. He is met at the door by his father, who is crying, and by Big Jim Evans, who expresses his sympathy. The speaker's younger brother, a baby, is cooing and laughing in his pram, seemingly unaware of the tragedy that has occurred.
The speaker is embarrassed by the attention he receives from the old men who stand up to shake his hand and express their condolences. Whispers spread through the crowd, informing them that he is the eldest son, away at school. His mother holds his hand and coughs out tearless sighs, angry at the loss of her son.
At ten o'clock, the ambulance arrives with the body of the young boy, who has been prepared by the nurses. The next morning, the speaker goes up to the room where his brother's body is laid out. The boy's bedside is adorned with snowdrops and candles, creating a soothing atmosphere. The speaker sees his brother for the first time in six weeks, and is struck by his pale appearance and the poppy bruise on his temple.
The boy lies in a four-foot box, a coffin that is too small for his growing body, representing the tragic end of a young life cut short. The poem concludes with the speaker reflecting on the fact that the coffin is a foot for every year of his brother's short life.
The poem "Mid Term Break" is a powerful and poignant exploration of grief and loss, and the impact of death on a young family. Heaney's use of simple language and imagery creates a vivid picture of the events surrounding the boy's death, while the poem's emotional depth and resonance capture the universal experience of loss.