A Fighter's Lines

By Marzuki Ali
Understanding the meaning of the poem
About the poet

Marzuki Ali
Marzuki Ali was born in 1945 in Terengganu, Malaysia. He was brought up in Kemaman
and later Sabah. He has been writing poems since the 1960's. His poems mostly deal
with issues regarding his hometown, environment and patriotism. A lot of his poems
have been published in the Utusan Malaysia, Berita Minggu, Dewan Sastera and Dewan
Budaya.

Synopsis of the poem

The persona in the poem is an old soldier. He is tired as he is old and weak. He and his
people suffered in the past in their fight for freedom of their country and they made
many sacrifices. People lost their lives and some remain nameless or unknown.

The persona, who believes that he will be in the wheelchair for the rest his life says he
can only watch the happenings around him. Physically, he is helpless and he has no
energy left. He was either seriously injured when he was a soldier or is very ill. He finds
that times have changed and being a crippled man, it is too challenging for him to fight
the injustice he sees around him. He is troubled by many lies being told everywhere.

Being highly spirited, he calls on the younger generation to wake up and fight on. They
have to realise that they have to form lines or ranks irrespective of racial, religious and
social differences to fight courageously for justice. He wants the young people who
inherited the country's freedom to be united and denounce lies which may threaten the
country.

The persona feels helpless that he is not heard. He urges the younger generation to fight
or speak up for what is right because it is now their turn to do so.

Meaning of Stanzas:
Stanza 1:
The poet once had become a soldier and he had suffered a lot to fight for
independence from invaders.
Stanza 2:
During that time, they fought with all of their will and as the
consequences now he is wheelchair bound due to the loss of energy and
he is now old enough to only be able to sit on the while writing this poem.
After years of independent, the poet sees that the people trying to destroy
themselves by engulfing into the world full of lies. The poet says that
there is nothing much he can do as these times are too challenging.
Stanza 3:
The poet now urges new generation to fight for their freedom. First we
have to be united regardless of our races or religions and fight for the
sake of our nations country.
Stanza 4:
The poet also claims that he cannot affect others to fight for freedom as
he is old and has no will to protect the country and it is the responsibility
of the young ones to speak out their opinions.
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.
The Setting

The poem is set after independence. The persona feels that the independence he has
struggled for is now threatened by subversive elements.

Tone and mood

In the first stanza, the tone indicates that the persona is sad and weary because he is
old and weak. The persona is also melancholic, reflecting on his past sacrifices he made
for the country's independence.

In the second stanza, the persona voices his helplessness, anger and contempt because
his country is facing threats.

The tone used in the third stanza is serious and demanding. The persona urges the
present generation to form a united front to uphold the freedom that he and many
others has fought for.

The persona ends by insisting that the younger generation continues to fight against
injustice because he can no longer do so.

Themes
1. Patriotism
Patriotism is one of the themes of this poem. The people in this country have made a lot
of sacrifices to fight for their freedom. They have achieved independence but now there
are other threats such as deceit. This affects the country's safety. The persona calls on
the younger generation to fight for justice and to speak up against deceit.

2. Being courageous
Another theme is being courageous. In the past, people made many sacrifices and
fought bravely with the country's enemies for their freedom. Now, the persona urges the
younger generation to be brave and fight against other threats in the country. He tells
them to stand up and speak with courage.

3. Unity
In the past, people were united when they fought for independence. Now, the persona
emphasises that the younger generation who has inherited a free country should unite to
preserve their freedom. They should stand united by building a wall of people or forming
ranks irrespective of racial, religious and other social differences. The "lines" in the
poem, A Fighter's Lines refer to the persona's lines and the lines or ranks formed for
unity. We have to be united and strong as in the saying, "United we stand, divided we
fall".

Values
1. We must be brave to uphold justice.
The persona urges the younger generation to stand up against the widespread lies which
are rampant in society today. This 'net of deceit' worries his as it can destroy the
solidarity of the people. Therefore, he urges them to stand united and uphold justice to
preserve the freedom and safety of the country.

2. We must be willing to make sacrifices to preserve our independence.

In the fight for independence, the persona and other soldiers sacrificed and risked their
lives when they fought for independence. Now, he is wheelchair-bound because he was
either crippled in the war or is now old and sick. Now, he wants the younger generation
to make sacrifices too to preserve their freedom.

3. We must be united to preserve our freedom.

The persona wants the younger generation to stand united regardless of their differences
to ensure their freedom.

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