'Tame' - Sarah Howe

It is more profitable to raise geese than daughters.

- CHINESE PROVERB

This is the tale of the woodsman's daughter. Born with a box

of ashes set beside the bed,

in case. Before the baby's first cry, he rolled her face into the cinders -

held it. Weak from the bloom

of too-much-blood, the new mother tried to stop his hand. He dragged

her out into the yard, flogged her

with the usual branch. If it was magic in the wood, they never

said, but she began to change:

her scar-ridged back, beneath his lashes, toughened to a rind; it split

and crusted into bark. Her prone

knees dug in the sandy ground and rooted, questing for water,

as her work-grained fingers lengthened

into twigs. The tree - a lychee - he continued to curse as if it

were his wife - its useless, meagre

fruit. Meanwhile the girl survived. Feathered in greyish ash,

her face tucked in, a little gosling.

He called her Mei Ming: No Name. She never learned to speak. Her life

maimed by her father's sorrow.

For grief is a powerful thing - even for objects never conceived.

He should have dropped her down

the well. Then at least he could forget. Sometimes when he set

to work, hefting up his axe

to watch the cleanness of its arc, she butted at his elbow - again,

again - with her restive head,

till angry, he flapped her from him. But if these silent pleas had

meaning, neither knew.

The child's only comfort came from nestling under the

lychee tree. Its shifting branches

whistled her wordless lullabies: the lychees with their watchful eyes,

the wild geese crossing overhead.

The fruit, the geese. They marked her seasons. She didn't long to join

the birds, if longing implies

a will beyond the blindest instinct. Then one mid-autumn, she craned

her neck so far to mark the geese

wheeling through the clouded hills - it kept on stretching - till

it tapered in a beak. Her pink toes

sprouted webs and claws; her helpless arms found strength

in wings. The goose daughter

soared to join the arrowed skein: kin linked by a single aim

and tide, she knew their heading

and their need. They spent that year or more in flight, but where -

across what sparkling tundral wastes -

I've not heard tell. Some say the fable ended there. But those

who know the ways of wild geese

know too the obligation to return, to their first dwelling place. Let this

suffice: late spring. A woodsman

snares a wild goose that spirals clean into his yard - almost like

it knows. Gripping its sinewed neck

he presses it down into the block, cross-hewn from a lychee trunk.

A single blow. Profit, loss.

Sarah Howe's beautiful poem 'Tame' tackles the practice of female infanticide that used to be prevalent in 18th century China, hence the epigraph of the Chinese proverb, "it is more profitable to raise geese than daughters" which just highlights how inferior women were; they were seen to be below an animal. For women in 18th century China, having a son was often the only way to raise their status so they would pray to Guanyin, the Buddhist Goddess of Compassion because she was thought to be the "bringer of sons" which emphasizes just how desperately people wanted to have boys and not girls. In her poem, Sarah Howe describes the brutality of this practice yet also the resilience of "the woodman's daughter", creating a stunning tale of resilience which, at the same time, is laced with pain and loss.

In the first stanza, the contrast between the innocence of the new baby girl and the brutality of her father's actions creates a harrowing and extremely emotive vision of the girl's first moments of life. The image of the ashes - which connote death - already prepared "in case" the baby is a girl just shows how she was doomed even before she was born and was destined to a life of oppression and pain from the outset. The fact that she was rolled in the ashes before her first cry makes this image even more distressing as there seems to be no humanity in this scene except the mother's anguish at being powerless to stop what she knows is about to happen.

However, as you read the next stanza, you learn of the resilience of the young girl despite the hardships she faces at the hands of her own father. The image of how her

back "crusted into bark" could suggest that she is hardening against his blows and that he can't hurt her, but, on the other hand, could also literally represent scabs forming after she has been hit by her father, so the sense of vulnerability is also further enhanced in this stanza. The image of her transforming into a tree encapsulates this contrast between sturdiness and fragility as trees usually seem imposing and strong, but her father is a woodsman, so he cuts trees down for a living which could be reflective of his treatment of his daughter. The description of the girl "questing for water,/ as her work grained fingers lengthened into twigs" further depicts how tough her childhood is as, even as she metaphorically grows to become a tree, this process is difficult as she can't find water and "twigs" are associated with being fragile and easy to break which reflects how, as she grows, life becomes harder and she becomes thinner and more vulnerable. The image of the tree contrasts greatly with the image of the girl as a "gosling" which is "feathered in grey ash" as these are much more tender images which highlight her innocence and extreme youth, evoking even greater sadness as we know that she will not be nurtured as a "gosling" would and will have an extremely hard childhood if she manages to survive.

I think the sadness of the daughter's life is encapsulated in her name: "Mei Ming: No Name". This shows the extent of her father's dislike, or even hatred, for her that he will not even give her something to be recognized by; he deprives her of an identity. The reference to the father's mourning of the son he never had could bring a sense of sympathy towards him; however, it still does not qualify his actions towards her. The very emotional image of how "she butted at his elbow - again,/again - with her restive head" accentuates the feelings of grief that both the father and the daughter hold; the father is grieving the lack of a son while the daughter is grieving the lack of her father's love - by describing the action of affection so common to children, Howe highlights the daughter's yearning for a sign of love and a sense of comfort from the person who is supposed to give her these things.

The fact that "he flaps her from him" in the next stanza suggests that he almost swats her away as you would with an annoying fly which serves to accentuate the huge

emotional gap between the two and the feelings of rejection that the daughter must hold. She finds comfort amongst the "lychee trees" and "wild geese" which could perhaps represent her longing to be free; the natural imagery here could reflect how she yearns to grow and fly around without a care in the world as children should, but the harmonious quality of nature could also serve as a contrast to the unnatural relationship she has with her father and his actions which suppress the natural feelings of love she has for him.

It is described that "she didn't long to join/the birds, if longing implies/ a will beyond the blindest instinct" which I think actually highlights just how much she yearned to be free with the birds. The negation here depicts that she doesn't want to go with the birds, but the definition of "longing" then suggests that she does want "to join" them as "a will beyond the blindest instinct" implies a feeling that has reached its utmost extent whereas, for me, "longing" suggests a strong desire or feeling, but not necessarily as strong as the definition displays which highlights that, in reality, she would love to be free with the birds. We then learn about her transformation into a wild goose and the description of this process marks the beginning of her freedom. Howe describes how "her neck kept on stretching" and "her weak arms found strength/in wings" which highlights the liberating transformation she is going through. There is a natural sense to this process as "she knew their heading", suggesting that her days of watching the geese have made her mind free with the birds, and this physical transformation is just the last step to liberty.

In the next stanza, there is the sense that the geese were lost in the vast expanse of the world; truly free as no one knew where they were which creates a tone of hope and excitement that the daughter might have finally escaped the clutches of her father. However, this prospect is quickly dashed when you read the lines "Some say the fable ended there. But those/who know the ways of wild geese/know too the obligation to return" it is shown how this girl will never be truly free. The use of the word "obligation" is an interesting choice as, personally, I would think that geese have an 'instinct' rather than an "obligation" to return, insinuating that the daughter is always under the command of her father, even when she is seemingly free with the birds. There is a sense of inevitability about the fact that the father will kill the wild goose who, in reality, is his daughter, and she seems to be resigned to this fact as well, as shown by the phrase "almost like/it knows". By using the impersonal pronoun "it", Howe reinforces how, for the woodsman, just like a goose is an "it", so is his daughter inside the goose, highlighting how he never had a connection with her.

It is tragically ironic that the daughter, who according to the proverb, is less profitable than the goose, survives infancy but then ends up being killed by her father after transforming into a goose, making him profit out of her life. The last line: "A single blow. Profit, loss." highlights the deplorable nature of the situation due to the simple

sentences used which reflect how easy it is for the father to lose his daughter, and how the daughter was doomed to a tragic ending from the start. The reference to the Chinese Proverb in the last two words, "Profit, loss" provides a stark reminder about how difficult life used to be for women and how this little girl's death has profited her father, and that this outweighs any grief that could be felt from her "loss", shown through the capitalization of "Profit."

Sarah Howe's poem is a beautifully crafted tale trimmed with feelings of sadness and loss. The fact that there is a Chinese Proverb which states the extent of women's inferiority - that they are below geese - makes this poem even more pertinent and heartbreaking and shows just how tragic the life of this young girl was destined to be.