THE TENANT
Na Ncube (1966-)
Biography
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Na Ncube (ngulube) was born in 1966 in a village near Zimbabwe.
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At the age of 11 her family moved to Zimbabwe.
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She is a trained accountant.
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She is a director of a charity which supports development initiatives
in Zimbabwe.
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She has only published 2 poems: “The Tenant” and “Born that Way”
which was published in New Coin Poetry.
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She has stated that she writes for pleasure and would like the reader
to simply have fun with the poems even though the poems might
be a critical social commentary.

She wrote this poem when she was a teenager.

She states that the poem ‘The Tenant’ relates to the many around
her who would not let love come in again, choosing rather the
lonely familiar” and that she “watched fellow young women around
her battle between opening up to love or to close that door and
build a formidable career instead – a lot of people chose the latter
and that is sad”.
EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE
Emotional baggage is a metaphor
that refers to your negative,
unprocessed emotions from past
experiences. All types of emotional
baggage, if not taken care of, can
negatively impact your current
experiences — your relationships,
your friendships, your family relations,
your career.
The Tenant
1 There is no room for you
in my heart. The only tenant
who ever lived there left
some luggage behind.
4 I could possibly live with
the marks on the walls. Some
are completely indelible
some I even like.
2 I didn't even evict her. She
simply left without a word.
5 But you see I am afraid that
if it all goes, what will I do
with all that empty space.
3 I keep hoping she will come
back and collect the luggage
or at least arrange for disposal
clean out the place, throw out
old memories.
Analysis of the Poem

The speaker seems to be addressing someone (a new lover). Elements of a dramatic monologue.
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Structure: Free Verse


No formal rhyme scheme or rhythm.

The free verse is appropriate as the poem is a very personal reflection which is delivered from one person to another.

The uniqueness and sincerity of the poet’s emotions is reflected by the looser structure.
The poet conveys how memories can influence our future negatively by teaching us to be afraid of
consequences.



This message is evident in that there is “no room” for someone new, and yet the speaker is “afraid” of the “empty
space” (loneliness of a life without love).
TONE: melancholic, reflective, pensive, conflicted…

It is influenced by the subject, where the speaker is explaining there “is no room” to love another again.

The diction (such as “left”, “hoping”, “old memories”, “afraid” and “empty space”) conveys this tone.
EXTENDED METAPHOR: A tenant abandoning a place of temporary residency without notice is compared to
a person leaving their lover without any explanation. Similarly, the heart of an individual is compared to a
physical place occupied by another individual that has now become vacant –emotionally empty.
Analysis of the title: The Tenant

A tenant is a person who occupies a property or land owned by a landlord –
rental of property.

The title introduces the extended metaphor in the poem - the experience of
being abandoned by a lover is compared to the sudden departure of a
tenant from a property they are renting. Adding to this is the comparison
between the emotional scars that remain after the termination of a
relationship and that of a tenant who vacates the property but leaves certain
possessions behind.

This is where the pain appears to reside for the speaker – being surrounded
by hurtful reminders of a n experience with a past lover – one cannot move
forward with this amount of emotional baggage.

Thus, the “tenant” is used throughout the poem to represent the person who
has left the speaker broken hearted.

By naming the poem “the tenant” instead of “the resident”, the speaker
implies that love is short-lived or that lovers come and go because “tenants”
imply short-term commitment whereas “residents” imply permanence or
longer-term.
Declaration that there is no room for “you” in the speaker’s heart.
Stanza 1
There is no room for you
in my heart. The only tenant
who ever lived there left
some luggage behind.
IDIOMATIC EXPRESSION: “having room in your heart” means being able to
love others.
If there is no room, it IMPLIES that we cannot love others.
Idea of treating the heart like a physical place, a “room” in a
house)is extended. Jargon related to the property market,
rentals and so forth.
EXTENDED METAPHOR: the comparison of the heart to a physical
place is extended throughout the poem.
Use of the CAESURA – abrupt stop allowing the speaker to
gather their thoughts. And reflect.
The initial message sis enhanced, “who ever lived there left”,
but “left some luggage behind”.
Explanation of why there is no
room—the previous “tenant”
(the speaker’s previous lover)
has “left”, behind her “luggage”
IDIOMATIC EXPRESSION:
emotional baggage—the
memories that feel like burdens.
Stanza 2
I didn't even evict her. She
simply left without a word.
The adverb “even” conveys an air of disbelief and emphasizes
that the speaker is not responsible for the end of the relationship
EVICT – the extended metaphor continues – Real estate jargon.
The isolation of the word “she” at the end of the line reinforces
the fact that the break up was possibly not the fault of the
speaker.
“Simply” shows the tenant moved out without an explanation or
any consideration for the speaker thus exacerbating the
speaker’s frustration and despair.
Stanza 2 provides some clarity as to why the memories are
painful—the speaker did not “evict” her (EXTENDED METAPHOR:
end the relationship). Thus, the end of this relationship was not
welcomed
She “simply left” without providing an explanation for her abrupt
departure from the speaker.
Stanza 3
“hoping” shows that the speaker still has hope for the
relationship to continue, or else that she will return to explain why
she ended the relationship (“collect the luggage” or organize
for its “disposal”).
I keep hoping she will come
back and collect the luggage
or at least arrange for disposal
clean out the place, throw out
old memories.
IDIOMATIC EXPRESSION: “clean out the place” means forgetting
“old memories”.
The speaker needs this closure in order to begin a new
relationship.
There is an intense desire to cleanse the space or more
metaphorically, the heart.
This possibly enhances the extended metaphor further as
tenants can often be reckless and sometimes even vandalise
property – perhaps the speaker feels emotionally vandalized ,
destroyed and damaged.
Stanza 4
The speaker considers how to deal with this situation; it seems as
if there is someone new waiting to be loved.
The speaker could “possibly live with the marks on the walls” (the
hurt/ memories that has changed the state of his “room” (heart).
The word, ‘possibly’ suggests that this may be an unrealistic
feat.
I could possibly live with
Some of the memories are unforgettable and permanent
(“indelible”). ’Marks on the wall’ – emotional and psychological
scars that haunt yet paradoxically comfort the speaker.
The speaker even “likes” some of these memories. – this is
directly related to the difficulty of letting go of past experiences,
past relationships
the marks on the walls. Some
are completely indelible
Placement and repetition of “some” suggests that some of the
memories are hurtful yet difficult to forget.
some I even like.
The word “even” suggests that most of the memories are hurtful
yet the speaker appreciates even the painful memories.
Stanza 5
The word ‘But’ suggests that to some extent the speaker
welcomes heartache.
The speaker is afraid to move on due to FEAR (“if” the luggage
“all goes”).
FEAR is used metaphorically in the extended metaphor: fear of
“what the speaker will do with that empty space” - the speaker
is afraid of EITHER filling the empty space and getting hurt again
OR possibly fears being lonely and without a purpose.
But you see I am afraid that
if it all goes, what will I do
with all that empty space.
“doing something with all that empty space” is usually used by
homeowners to describe their plans to decorate their interiors.
Linking to the extended metaphor, the speaker implies that just
as an empty space in a home has to be filled, an empty space
in a heart has to be exposed again to other people, which
could involve more pain and hurt.
This sentence could possibly end in a question mark since there
appears to be no closure for the speaker. There are a number of
unanswered questions and some psychological repair that is
required before the speaker can close that chapter of their life
and move forward.
What is achieved at the end of this
poem?
The poem is concerned with the difficulties associated with confronting the past. Often
memories can influence our future negatively by teaching us to be afraid of
consequences.
There is also an indication that in many cases, people find themselves in denial about
relationships that are either in the process of failing or have actually failed already.
There is also the suggestion that some people would prefer to be in an unhappy
relationship rather than to be alone.