Ans: “Learning Grief” is a notable poem written by Kaiser Haq, a prominent of Bangladesh. The poem is about the process of developing consciousness of intense sorrow of grief. In this poem, the poet analyses the theme of learning grief very clearly by resorting to two instances of his experience at the death of his two family members. In short, the poem “Learning Grief” is a study in contrast with respect of the nature of grief on two occasions in the poet’s life. A critical analysis of the poem is needed to elucidate the poet’s grief in it.

The poet begins the poem with a description of his experience during the death of his grandmother. At that time, his sense of grief was not intense or deep. Here, he offers an instance of his earlier reaction when he sees his grandmother on her deathbed. He is still too young to get socially and emotionally involved in the act of mourning. The poet expresses his grief over the death of his grandmother through the following lines —

” I remember feeling
Nothing except that the whole
Scene was novel. “

At eight at a very tender age, the poet was dragged from bed to offer a glass of water to his grandmother on a deathbed. The word ‘dragged’ suggests the poet’s reluctance to get up and his passivity towards the graveness of the situation. His grandmother drank the water and he went back to sleep. When he woke up, he saw a scene of mourning. The poet’s neighborhood friends came and they were sympathizing with his father who was red-eyed because of his mother’s death. All these scenes did not create any deep impression on the poet’s mind. Nor did he feel any grief over the death of his grandmother. He only felt the sense was a novel one.

The poet then gives his second instance at the age of ten. At the sudden loss of his sister, the poet was so seriously depressed that he lost hope and zeal for life His sister died of pneumonia. The mental shock can be detected in his elaborate description of his sister’s death. The days became tasteless or being foe him and working out the lessons and exercises of school added to his suffering. He felt like being in penitence. He could not play with his friends. At their pranks, he thought that he would never smile or laugh again and he would never feel joy.

He was left by his friends alone and he contemplated over his sad condition. But after a period of suffering in this way, one day he was suddenly able to crack a joke and laugh. The poet refers to his experience of restarting his life through the following lines —

” I felt the clock of my life begin
To tick again as a joke
Burst from my lips. “

This is how the poet learned grief. The first instance of the poem did not stop his life but the second instance did stop his life and he was greatly moved by the sudden death of his sister.

In light of the above discussion, we can say that the poem “Learning Grief” is a wonderful example of the poet’s learning grief through the experiences of two instances. It focuses on the fundamental issue of life – man’s growing consciousness of the sadness of life.