Tissue by Imtiaz Dharker - Analysis and Key Themes

Ever wondered how something as delicate as paper could represent the most powerful forces in life? Dharker's 'Tissue' brilliantly uses paper as a central metaphor to explore human existence, power, and our relationship with the divine.

The poem opens with religious imagery - "Paper that lets the light shine through" - which connects to both Jesus ("I am the light of the world") and Islamic teachings about Allah being "the light of the heavens and earth." This immediately establishes that paper, despite its fragility, has the power to reveal hidden truths and alter things fundamentally.

Dharker uses personal, intimate examples like family records written in the Koran's margins - "who was born to whom, the height and weight" - to show how paper preserves our most precious memories. The gentle verbs "smoothed and stroked" emphasise how tenderly we treat these fragile records of human life.

Key insight: The poem's free verse structure mirrors humanity's lack of control, whilst the repetition of "paper" establishes its central importance to understanding life's fragility.

The contrast between solid buildings reimagined as paper structures reveals how easily human-made power can crumble. When Dharker writes "see how easily they fall away on a sigh," she's showing that even our most impressive constructions are vulnerable to forces beyond our control - much like the themes explored in 'Ozymandias' where human pride ultimately falls to time and nature.