Literature

Form 3 Poem: The Day the Bulldozers Came – David Orme | Meanings, Vocabs, Themes & Moral values|

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The Day the Bulldozers Came

by David Orme

 

The day the bulldozers came

Rooks were building

Crazy egg baskets in the oaks;

Green flies sizzled by the pond

And a cold-eyed toad

Waited for them.

 

The day the bulldozers came

Squirrels were scattering

Up tree trunks,

And leapt from branches

That were hardly there.

 

The fox

Stirred in his sleep

As the ground trembled.

       ‘Ha ha!’ he thought,

       ‘I’m quite safe,

Deep down in the Earth,

No one can get me here.’

Then the bulldozer came.

Meaning
Stanza 1 The day the bulldozers came

Rooks were building

Crazy egg baskets in the oaks;

Green flies sizzled by the pond

And a cold-eyed toad

Waited for them.

 When the bulldozers came to the forest, Rooks (a type of bird) were making nests (egg baskets) in oak trees.

Green flies were buzzing around the pond while a toad was waiting to eat them.
 

Stanza 2

 The day the bulldozers came

Squirrels were scattering

Up tree trunks,

And leapt from branches

That were hardly there.

 When the bulldozers came to the forest, squirrels were scared and they were running up the trees. They tried to leap from branch to branch, but the tree branches were no longer there. The bulldozers had knocked them down.
 

Stanza 3

 The fox

Stirred in his sleep

As the ground trembled.

‘Ha ha!’ he thought,

‘I’m quite safe,

Deep down in the Earth,

No one can get me here.’

Then the bulldozer came.

 The fox woke up from his nap but he went back to sleep. He felt the ground shake but he thought he was safe deep down in the foxhole. However, the bulldozers came and dug him out of the soil!

 

Pictures to help you understand
1. Bulldozers
2. Rooks

A type of crow
3. oaks
4. Green flies
5. toad
6. squirrels  
7. branches  
8. Fox  

*photos credit:google

Product

Themes:
  1. Destruction of nature

The bulldozers are designed to knock down trees and flatten lands for development. However this has resulted in the destruction of nature. Many trees are knocked down. Animals lose their home and have no where to go.

 

2.  Change is inevitable

Life is always changing. Change cannot be avoided. For example, the bulldozers are invented to replace the animals and help human to develop new lands.

 

3. Alertness

It is important to be alert to our surroundings. For example, the fox believes that as long as he hides in the hole, he will be safe. However he does not realise that the change that humans make is now able to harm him even though he is deep in the ground. He needs to be alert so that he can survive the change.

 

4. Disruption of life

The lives of the animals in the forest are disrupted by human’s activities. For example, the bulldozers knock down the tree branches where the squirrels live. The bulldozers also disrupt the home of the foxes by digging up the foxholes.

Moral values:
  1. We should be alert to any threats and changes around us.
  2. We should be ready to face changes.
  3. We should respect the nature and the animals that depend on it.
  4. We should protect flora and fauna and the only Earth we have.
  5. We should understand that development projects can bring harm to the nature.

 

Hope this helps you.

Happy Learning, Happy Teaching!

 

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30 thoughts on “Form 3 Poem: The Day the Bulldozers Came – David Orme | Meanings, Vocabs, Themes & Moral values|”

  2. Pingback: Poem The day the bulldozers came (C3): Form 3 English - Bumi Gemilang

  11. Hmm is anyone else having problems with the images on this blog loading?
    I’m trying to find out if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply

    1. Hi Angeline,
      I’m not sure if there is any problem with our site. However, I haven’t received any complaints with such issues. And I’ve tested with a few devices, the images loaded alright.
      Would appreciate your future feedback if you found out anything that we could improve on technically.
      Regards,
      Grace.

      Reply

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