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This article analyzes “The Breasts of the Sea”, a poem by the Sierra Leonean poet Syl Cheney-Coker.

This analysis covers the following sections:

• The Poem
• Poem Background
• Structure of the Poem
• Title Analysis
• Language and Diction of the poem
• The Mood and Tone of the Poem
• About the author

The Poem: 

The Breasts of the Sea

by Syl Cheney-Coker

After our bloody century, the sea will groan
under the weight, somewhere between breasts and anus.
Filled with toxins, her belly will not yield new islands
even though the children of East Timor wish it so.

The sea is only capable of so much history:
Noah’s monologue, the Middle Passage’s cargoes,
Darwin’s examination of the turtle’s shit,
the remains of the Titanic, and a diver’s story
about how the coelacanth was recaptured.
Anything else is only a fractured chela
we cannot preserve, once the sea’s belly
has washed itself clean of our century’s blight.

Throbbing, the sea’s breasts will console some exiles,
even those shut out of Australia, drifters on a tired moon
but Sierra Leone won’t be worth a raped woman’s cry,
despite her broken back, this shredded garment,
her hands swimming like horrors of red corals.
But do you, O Sea, long-suffering mistress,
have the balm to heal the wounds of her children,
hand to foot the axe, alluvial river flowing into you?

Background of the Poem, The Breasts of the Sea

“The Breast of the Sea” is written by the Sierra Leonean poet, Syl Cheney-Coker. It is a part of his poetry collection, Stone Child and Other Poems, published in 2008. The poem reflects the sufferings of the people of Sierra Leone under war and colonial exploitation. It also captures their history in relation to other related events around the globe.

Cheney-Coker’s “The Breasts of the Sea” speaks of the socio-economic conflicts and political instability experienced in Sierra Leone which led to the civil war from 1991 to 2002. The country is the re-settlement for returning African slaves after the abolishment of the slave trade. The slave trade and return of the slaves took place through the sea. This is a key aspect of the country’s history and is the background of Syl Cheney-Coker’s poem, The Breasts of the Sea.

Additionally, Sierra Leone attained independence in 1961 and leadership shifted from the United Kingdom to Sierra Leone with the first Prime Minister, Sir Milton Margai. Leadership was then passed down to citizens of the country and in 1991, a civil war broke out between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group. This war lasted eleven years and with the intervention of ECOMOG forces and the United Kingdom, RUF was defeated in 2002. The experience of bloodshed, chaos, loss, and trauma of this experience are also captured in the poem.

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Structure of the Poem, The Breasts of the Sea

“The Breasts of the Sea” by Syl Cheney-Coker has three stanzas and twenty lines. The first stanza consists of four lines while the second and third stanzas have eight lines each. The poem is free verse and Cheney-Coker used run-on lines to keep the lines flowing and reading interesting.

The first stanza opens the poem with an overview of the troubles of the century, especially in Sierra Leone. The issues and events identified within the four lines of stanza one include –

1. The nature of the century – this is captured as “bloody”.
2. The effects of human activities on the environment, in this case, the sea – “the sea will groan under its weight”.
3. The poisoning of the sea and the secondary damage to the life of the people (line 3).
4. The extent of the damage and irreversibility of it all (line 4).

Stanza two expands on the historical contexts that relate to what was happening in Sierra Leone at the time. It also paints a picture of how these events unfold, form history, fragment, and disappear.

In conclusion, the third stanza brings it all together, examining the damage, loss, and sorrow of the Sierra Leoneans, the different responses of the people, and hope for the future.

Title Analysis of “The Breasts of the Sea”

The title, “The Breasts of the Sea” connotes nurturing through the choice of the word “Breasts”. It also suggests a vastness and power; portrayed by the word, “Sea”. Therefore, the title displays the contradictory nature of the sea – as a source of valuable and nurturing resources and as vicious, harsh, and destructive. It also captures the sea as a route to another place.

Therefore, the title depicts the sea as a mother who provides nurturing and strives to keep her children safe by employing her vastness and depth of womanhood.

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Language and Diction of the poem

The language used in the poem reflects the harsh realities of the century depicted in the poem and the lives of the people of Sierra Leone. The choices of words are strong representations of the situation and evoke deep emotions in the readers. Words like “bloody”, “toxins”, “groan” “and “fractured” paint pictures of wounds, poison, deep sorrow, destruction, and death.

The diction is formal with a touch of modern-day vulgarity used to capture the pleasurable and despicable aspects of the actions of men and their effect on the sea (line 2).

“After our bloody century, the sea will groan
under the weight, somewhere between breasts and anus.”

(Stanza 1, lines 1-2)

It is also somber as the speaker reflects on the far-reaching consequences of the violence and war the country has endured. In the end, he rhetorically airs his hope of healing and a better future for the people of Sierra Leone (lines 18-20).

The Mood and Tone of the Poem

The tone is of desperation, despair, and mourning capturing the sadness and sorrowful mood. There is also a deep reflection on the events unfolding and the historical trail relating to the circumstance. The speaker has resigned to fate as the damage that has been done to the people and the environment is difficult to repair or utterly irreparable. This is reflected in his response to the sea’s cleansing power and the hope that the sea can heal her people.

Cheney-Coker’s “The Breasts of the Sea” is a lamentation. It becries the suffering of the people of Sierra Leone and the twentieth-century world, the damage to the environment, the losses, and the worry for the future.

About the author

Syl Cheney-Coker born in 1945 hails from Sierra Leone. His works often portray the social and political realities of Africa, especially his home country, Sierra Leone. He captures the struggles of his people under colonial rule and the marks left behind by colonialism. Syl Cheney-Coker is a poet, novelist, and journalist, educated in the United States.