Night of the Scorpion
I rememeber the night my mother
Was stung by a scorpion. Ten hours
Of steady rain had driven him
To crawl beneath a sack of rice.
Parting with his poison flash
Of diabolic tail in the dark room
he risked the rain again.
The peasants came like swarms of flies
and buzzed the Name of God a hundred times
to paralyse the Evil One.
With candles and with lanterns
throwing giant scorpion shadows
on the mud-baked walls
they searched for him: he was not found.
They clicked their tongues.
With every movement that the scorpion made
his poison moved in mother's blood, they said.
May he sit still, they said.
May the sins of your previous birth
be burned away tonight, they said.
May your suffering decrease
the misfortunes of your next birth, they said.
May the sum of evil
balanced in this unreal world
against the sum of good
become diminished by your pain.
May the poison purify your flesh
of desire, and your spirit of ambition,
they said, and they sat around
on the floor with my mother in the centre,
the peace of understanding on each face.
More candles, more lanterns, more neighbours,
more insects, and the endless rain.
My mother twisted through and through
groaning on a mat.
My father, sceptic, rationalist,
trying every curse and blessing,
powder, mixture, herb and hybrid.
He even poured a little paraffin
upon the bitten toe and put a match to it.
I watched the flame feeding on my mother,
I watched the holy man perform his rites
to tame the poison with an incantation.
After twenty hours
it lost its sting.
My mother only said
Thank God the scorpion picked on me
And spared my children.
- Nissim Ezekiel
Detailed explanation of the poem:
Stanza 1 (Lines 1–7)
I remember the night my mother
was stung by a scorpion. Ten hours
of steady rain had driven him
to crawl beneath a sack of rice.
Parting with his poison—flash
of diabolic tail in the dark room—
he risked the rain again.
Explanation:
The poet remembers the night when his mother was stung by a scorpion. Heavy rain had forced the scorpion to enter the house and hide under a sack of rice. When it stung the poet's mother, it immediately ran back outside into the rain.
Stanza 2 (Lines 8–22)
The peasants came like swarms of flies...
Explanation:
The neighbours quickly gathered in the house with candles and lanterns. They searched for the scorpion but could not find it. They believed that every movement of the scorpion would make the poison spread more in the mother's body.
Stanza 3 (Lines 23–31)
May the sins of your previous birth...
Explanation:
The villagers prayed and chanted. They believed that the mother's pain would wash away the sins of her previous life and make her soul pure. Their beliefs were based on superstition and religion.
Stanza 4 (Lines 32–45)
My father, sceptic, rationalist...
Explanation:
The poet's father, who believed in science, tried many treatments. He used medicines, herbs, powders, paraffin, and even burned the wound to stop the poison. However, none of these methods gave immediate relief.
Stanza 5 (Lines 46–End)
After twenty hours
it lost its sting.
My mother only said:
"Thank God the scorpion picked on me
and spared my children."
Explanation:
After about twenty hours, the pain finally went away. Instead of complaining, the poet's mother thanked God that the scorpion had stung her and not her children. This ending highlights a mother's unconditional love and self-sacrifice.
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