A Fighters Lines

I am old and worn

and have lost all my strength
sufferings
and the history of the fight for independence
have forced sacrifices
that know no name
or life
from the wheelchair of the rest of my days
I, body and energy crushed
see and cannot do much
these times are too big a challenge
for the remnants of my crippled years
the net of deceit spread everywhere
disturbs me
In the name of justice
Wake up and form ranks sons of our ancestor
Be brave
And erect a wall of people
Stand up heirs of our freedom
I have no more voice
It is you now who should speak!
Marzuki Ali
This poem talks about the feeling of a retired
soldier who had fought for the countrys
independence. This poem is looking from the first
person point of view who is a retired soldier as the
poem uses the pronoun I , as seen in the stanza
1. In this stanza, the persona says that he is old
and worn and has no energy. From this Stanza,
we know that the persona once had become a
soldier and he had suffered a lot to free the
country from invaders. Many lives had been
sacrificed to fight for our independence. At that
time, they fought with all of their will.
Consequently, he is wheelchair bound. Due to the
loss of energy and the fact that he is now old, he
has enough energy to only be able to sit on the
wheelchair. This is portrayed in Stanza 2. After
years of independence, the persona sees that the
people are trying to destroy themselves by
indulging into the world full of lies. Now, there is
nothing much he can do as how he did beforeprotect the country. This is shown in the lines:
see and cannot do much
these times are too big a challenge
for the remnants of my crippled years
the net of deceit spread everywhere
disturb me
In stanza 3, the persona calls out to the younger
generation to stand up and protect the country.
Due to the spreading of lies, he now urges new

generation to speak out their opinions and fight

for their freedom. He tells us in order to fight for
our freedom, first we have to be united, erect a
wall of people and fight for the sake of our
nations harmony.
Synopsis
Our ancestors worked very hard for
independence. Many died for the country. In the
midst of struggling for independence, he was
injured and now he is wheelchair bound. He was
strong then. However, the challenges facing the
country are far greater than before. He is unable
to fight it now. He has no more power to control or
change anything although he has a strong will.
Due to his strong will and in the spirit of
patriotism, he urges the youngsters to see the
truth and not drown in sea of lies. He stresses
here that if we, as the younger generation cannot
find the way to stop the dishonesties and lies we
are putting our countrys fate in danger as this
dishonesties can actually shake the stability of
our country. As the persona feels helpless, he
wants the younger generation to come forward
and fight in the name of justice.
Setting
In this poem, there are two settings. First is in an
independent country- independent of colonial rule
and any foreign control. This is shown by the
line, and the history of the fight for independence
have forced sacrifices that know no name or
life. The word history tells us that the persona is
reflecting the past. The second setting is an old
man sitting on a wheelchair inside his abodehome where he sits and ponders on the days
problems. This is shown in Stanza 2 (Line
1), from the wheelchair of the rest of my days.
Theme
The important theme in this poem is patriotism.
The personas experience of being a soldier;
fighting with the enemies and going through
hardships has made him a person who loves his
country. But now he is old and disabled and
cannot do much to free his country from current
challenges. Due to his patriotism he cannot bear
to see the country sink in the sea of lies, he urges
the young to fight for it. He urges the younger
generation to unite in spite of their differences and
speak out the inequalities and dishonesties in the
community so much so that the freedom retains.
Tones
The persona voices out his hopes through various
tones. There are three different tones in the
poem. In Stanzas 1 and 2, the persona enhances
the tone of frustration as he shares his disabilities
1

and weariness of not being able to fight for the

country anymore. They are shown through the
line, I am old and worn. Apart from that, the
line from the wheelchair of the rest of my days
, stresses his disability and leads him to feel
frustrated. He shows the tone of disappointment
as he talks about the deceits that have spread
everywhere as what he says in the line, the net
of deceit spread everywhere disturbs me. He
also feels disappointed as he and his friends have
fought so hard but now people themselves are
creating problems due to greed and deceit. His
tone changes dramatically as in Stanzas 3 and 4,
he goes from frustration and disappointment to
hopefulness. He eagerly urges the new
generation to stand up and rid of their fear of
voicing out their opinions as stated in the line, In
the name of justice wake up and form ranks sons
of our ancestor and Be brave. At the same time,
he also stresses on the needs for the younger
generation to be united and seek for their
freedom as he clearly states in his lines, And
erect a wall of people and Stand up heirs of our
freedom.
Symbols
A few symbols are highlighted in the poem. First
is the wheelchair that connotes disability. The
wheelchair symbolises the sacrifices for the
country-the hardships he went through for the
sake of achieving the countrys independence.
Although, he is now wheelchair bound, he still has
the will and determination to awaken the younger
generation from their long sleep on how important
it is to retain the independence achieved from the
sacrifices made by the older generation like him.
Another symbol in the poem is a wall of
people. It symbolises unity of the people. In this
poem, it refers to a need for the younger
generation to unite themselves regardless of
race, skin colour or background to speak and not
to be influenced by the deceits being spread. It is
also important for the younger generation to erect
a wall of people to retain the independence
achieved.
Metaphor
One major literary device used in this poem is
metaphor. A metaphor is comparison made
between two things without the use of words such
as like or as. In this poem, we can see there are
two examples of metaphor. In Stanza 2 (Line 6),
the persona uses the net of deceit where he
voices out problems encountered by the younger
generation. The modern generation deceives
each other and how the deceit is being spread- it
is widespread just like a fishing net that spreads

out when cast into the sea. The next metaphor is

as in the Stanza 3 (Line 4), a wall of
people where the persona feels that the people
need to be united and become like the concrete
wall to counter any challenges met.
Moral Values
Whether we are young or old, we must fight for
our country. We may be physically handicapped
but we can still contribute as we can be alert
mentally. We must value the issues of human
rights that our ancestors have fought for.
Discussion
The poem implied that our country Malaysia
comprises a variety of races, religions and beliefs.
Dishonesties and lies can be the viruses that
could destroy our unity and peace. The new
generation is urged to form a wall of unity
regardless of our differences and stand together
as a family to retain our freedom. Apart from that,
to retain our countrys independence, we must be
brave to uphold justice. We must be brave to seek
the truth and only then we can make a path to a
better future.
A Fighter's Lines - Analysis of the Poem
Synopsis
This poem is about a man who used to serve his
country but he is now old, frail and confined to a
wheelchair for the rest of his life. However, this
old man has not lost his fighting spirit as reflected
in the title of the poem, "A Fighter's Lines".
Although "body and energy crushed, see and
cannot do much", he still fights by voicing out his
opinions to the younger generation. he challenges
them to come forward and stand up for what is
right and truthful amidst "the net of deceit".
He also expresses his concern for the future of
the country. the man feels that his generation has
made a lot of sacrifices to gain independence,
freedom and justice. in order to maintain the
country's peace and harmony, he calls for the
young people to unite, "be brave" and "stand up"
to take responsibility for the freedom of the
country. In the last stanza, the man is saying that
his glory days are over and it is now the
younger generation's turn to take the lead.
Themes
Untied we stand, divided we fall
The poem calls out to all citizens to be united and
"erect a wall of people" so that together they can
protect the freedom and independence of their
country. if people are patriotic, brave and united
they can fight all enemies enthralled in a "net of
2

deceit". If they are divided they will lose the

freedom of their country that has been earned
by their ancestors who fought for independence.
Success can never be achieved without
sacrifices
the poet highlights that in order to achieve
success like gaining the independence and
freedom for the country we must fight and be
willing to make many "forced sacrifices that know
no name or life". Therefore, if we want any
success we must be willing to make sacrifices.
Freedom comes with a price
The poet shows us that the freedom and
independence of the country came with a price that is lots of "sufferings" and "forced sacrifices
that know no name or life". All freedom fighters
like the old man, who is now confined to a
wheelchair highlights that "history of the fight for
independence" will talk about their suffering,
sacrifices and challenges.
Moral Values
Be patriotic - love your country
We must be willing to fight for our freedom.
The young generation must also be willing to
stand up, united in the name of justice and be
brave enough to speak up against deceit or
anything else that may jeopardize our freedom.
Appreciate sacrifices of the old
We must appreciate the sacrifices of our
ancestors especially the freedom fighters who
made many sacrifices and underwent lots of
sufferings in order to gain independence of our
country.
Setting
Present times
Most probably in a village far from the hustle and
bustle of city life

Tone, Mood and Atmosphere

In the first two stanzas, there is a note of
tiredness as the persona talks about his current
situation and inability to do much due to his
weakening condition. Nevertheless a tinge of
disappointment is seen as he highlights the deceit
that has "spread everywhere".
then towards the end of the poem, in stanza 3,
the tone and mood change to that of urgency as
the persona calls out to the young to "wake up
and form ranks" and to be brave enough to speak
up.
Point of View
Most likely a former freedom fighter
A patriotic person
First person
He is now crippled old man confined to a
wheelchair for the rest of his life
The poem has 4 stanzas of unequal length
Stanza 1 and 2 has 7 lines whilst stanza 3 has 5
lines and stanza 4 has a couplet (2 lines)
Written in free or blank verse
Language and Style
Imagery
A crippled old man with "body and energy
crushed" sitting in a wheelchair looking
disappointed as he feels ha has "no more voice"
The persona as a young man - he was young,
energetic. spirited and brave. He had lots of
strength as he fought for independence and made
many "forced sacrifices".
Metaphor
"Net of deceit" indicates a group of people wo are
going around deceiving others in today's world
of capitalism.
"Wall of people" giving the impression that if teh
pubic get together they can can win this battle
and stop the deceit from spreading.