The Hitchhikers by Diane Wakoski

It seems to me that in her poem "The Hitchhikers" Wakoski associates herself with the hitchhikers. It is a bit ambiguous as to what exactly it is she lost, but it seems she earns for her lover that she lost. Now Wakoski associates her situation with that of a hitchhikers whom she refuses to pick up.
It seems that she is running away from something, because the mere image of hitchhikers remind her of driving accrues country and looking for her lover's face in the faces of strangers "hitchhikers/reminding me of hell. That I had what I wanted once,/and lost it,"
Author's conflict of self-0preservation arises feelings of guilt for not picking up the hitchhikers; this can be easily transferred towards how she feels about man. Wakoski was known to be very outspoken about her relationships with men, and this poem seems to fit into the pattern of self expression about her relationship.

Joy Harjo "Equinox"

Joy Harjo dedicated the poem “Equinox” to Lena Home, and singer actress and civil rights activist. The poem implies that Lena Homes life was not in vain, that the equinox has come and the new way of live will begin, the ground will thaw and once again the seeds will grow. Thus poem can represent either Joy’s or Lena’s life, the struggle, the pain and the war that is internal and internal.
The By burying the dead and making songs, it is implied that the speaker has made her peace. She acknowledges that whatever has happened she will have to answer for, but the war that was internal and addiction to the fighting must stop.
This poem is very ambiguous, there is a particular tone of pain and sorrow that is evident in it.

We Real Cool II

After re-reading Gwendolyn Brooks' poem "We Real Cool" I could not stop repeating it in my head. This is my short re-make to reflect youth of current generation:

We real cool.We
Cut school. We

Smoke dope.We
Kill Hope.

Jayne Cortez "Jazz Fan Looks Back"

This poem caught my attention from a very first glance. Beautiful Jazz metaphors and references that urged me to search out the recordings of the songs and performers mentioned in it; and the mastery of Cortez‘s word play.
As I understood Jayne Cortez remembers reminisces of the days she had attended Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts. Jazz at the Philharmonic was a series of concerts that took place between 1944 – 1983(Wikipedia.org, 2010); they included some of the biggest Jazz legends of the time. Cortez eloquently words her metaphors and portrays a sense of motion and dance throughout the poem. “my feet rebellious metronomes” suddenly spark an image of two feet moving by themselves yet keeping beat the beat; “Shuffled in Dexter's Deck” probably relating to getting lost in the songs and music of Dexter Gordon and much more.

Cortez uses repetition in the Beginning and the end of the poem to highlight Ella Fitzgerald’s songs “& scatted "How High the Moon"(”Lady Be Good”) with Ella Fitzgerald/as she blew roof off the Shrine Auditorium/Jazz at the Philharmonic” in my opinion, this is a way of paying homage to her favorite of all the Jazz performers.

Gwendolyn Brooks "The Mother"

The poem “The Mother” Gwendolyn Brooks takes on a unique perspective of a mother talking to her aborted children. speaker’s tone is ambiguous towards the abortions “ Or rather, or instead,/You were never made.\But that too, I am afraid,/Is faulty…”. It appears as though she regrets having to kill the children she never had, but is glad that she did not have them. Also what drew my attention is the line “The singers and workers that never handled the air.” This implies that her children would have been limited in their professions because of the world that they would be born in- a world of limited opportunities for Africa-American girls (singers) and boys (workers).
This poem takes on a tone of a confessional self-justification. Brooks tells the reader that no matter what every woman who has had an abortion still remembers every single one; having one does not mean forgetting and moving on. The Mother (Brooks) is haunted by the possibilities of having those children and how she would have felt and what they missed by not being born. In this sense Brooks shows her humanity even though she has committed a murderous act.

Sad "Metaphors" of Sylvia Plath

In the poem”Metaphors” Sylvia Plath is portraying her pregnancy in metaphors. Her nine syllables riddle is actually this nine line, nine syllables poem about herself during pregnancy. Pregnancy is a strange time when one’s body does not seem to belong to them; another person is being constructed within it. One can imagine the lack of control one must feel in this period. Especially a sensitive woman like Sylvia Plath this time of her life probably seems like a nightmarish dream.
Sylvia brings in the images that metaphorically describe her state of being and the way she feels about her newly acquired “passenger”. Especially in the line ” A melon strolling on two tendrils” we get a sense of how she might look physically – a very late term pregnancy, that she looks as if a melon stood up on its tiny vines and tried to walk.
Ambivalence is felt lightly in Plath’s voice, it seems as she is unsure of how to react to her current state. She seems to have no feelings of happiness or sadness, unlike many mothers-to-be who are overjoyed by their pregnancies.
This is a wonderful yet dreary poem, Plath seems to convey to us the ambivalence she experiences towards her state and in a way questions her purpose in life. Not only that, it seems she would reverse her state if she could “Boarded the train there's no getting off” , but it’s too late now.
Knowing Plath’s biography, it is probable that she had some psychological issues during and after her pregnancy.(she was suicidal and eventually succeeded). It is possible that her last and successful suicide attempt was due to an untreated postpartum depression.

In Golden Gaate Park That Day

Ferlinghett's poem sums up the intricate emotion and behavior of a couple who are no longer interested in each other and carry on together for a show.Just like a beat up old flute that no one plays or the grapes that are just being handed out as a little joke; os is the relationship between the two is a joke that is being carried on for a show.

The banality of life is clearly stated in this poetic expression. Not too long ago and even to this day, couples would carry on their loveless affairs of marriage through years of "terrible depression" and "without any particular expression". This poem might also signify the disconnection that men and women have, lack of communication in relationship, disconnect from each other and lack of appreciation of the beauty around and next to them.

Sad "Metaphors" of Sylvia Plath

Re-posted for current week

A thought on Bob Kaufman's "On"

In Bob Kaufman’s poem “On” it is evident that the poet is referring to many personal experiences as well as alluding to various socio-political events or issues. As Lindberg notes it in her biography on Kaufman “his elusive and allusive writings” it is evident that Kaufman was affected deeply by “political blacklisting and harassment, alcohol, drugs, electroshock treatments, and imprisonment” yet he kept a bright outlook on life and kept a lighter and more humorous tome in his work. “On neuro-corners… On alcohol corners…On lonely poet corners” are just a few of author’s personal experiences that are alluded to in the poem “On”. Kaufman also speaks out his mind on other socio-political and cultural issues without explicitly stating his opinions or attitudes. Just like other poems “Jazz Chick” and “Round About Midnight” seem to have a jazzy tone to it, sort of rhythm, a flow of words; I can almost hear a double bass strings being plucked to echo the words

An Epiphany through "An Epiphany" by Kooser

This was not a sudden epiphany that came to me, rather a slow and gradual realization... Our world is full of contrast and motion through states of life and death. Just like Kooser, in his poem “An Epiphany” he encounters death up-close. Brown recluse spider is considered to be the most venomous spider in continental US, and obviously Kooser is in very close proximity to it

“She ran down the gleaming white floor

of the bathtub”

or may be he was even about to step into the bathtub. It is possible that the image of the spider dragging poet’s wife’s hair along the floor of the tub, triggered one of the memories of his wife

“… a curl

she might idly have turned on a finger,

she might idly have twisted, speaking to me, ”

which might indicate that this could have been his last sigh if he got bitten by the recluse spider.

The epiphany is that Kooser sees how one’s life can be over while performing such a mundane task of visiting a washroom; plus an otherwise unnoticed world exists in the most tiniest of places.

Tess Gallagher "Red Poppy"

Very melancholic and sorrow filled poem “Red Poppy” by Tess Gallagher puts the reader in a very secluded place (hillside with ponies and silk prayer flags) and draws strong images of eternal sleep (which is symbolized by the poppy flower and its blood red color - death or blood.) Gallagher actually depicts in this poem how she feels the death approaching that eternal sleep drawing near “when the poppy lets go I know it is to lay bare/ his thickly seeded black coach/ at the pinnacle of dying.”

Than we are taken off to that pinnacle of dying by the vivid image that might be ambiguous to readers, but it appears to be the hillside where Buddhist prayer flags are snapping in the wind, and ponies with bells braided into their manes uninterrupted graze in the hills, and blue skies with white peaks are in the distance (Gallagher) this not only visually takes the reader out of the hospital room into a melancholic tundra, but also lets the readers hear the quiet faint sounds and feel the wind that’s causing the flags to snap in the wind.

We can deduce from the most gentle and caring way Tess speaks of her beloved husband how she misses him, how painful and cherished the last seconds of his life were to her. We see that her love was so strong that she can only sum it up in two words her life was “for him”! This poem made me realize that there are still those who can love so strongly and so purely. This poem is similar to “Black Valentine” in that they both depict Gallagher’s husband’s death or dying. She was gravely affected by his passing, besides the obvious reasons another would be – he encouraged her to write (poetryfoundation.org) Also the title is somewhat ambiguous and might mislead some people, yet poppies always stood for death and sleep, poppies often appear on tombstones as a symbol of eternal slumber (Wikipedia.org) hence the meaning of this poem’s title.

It seems to me it is more optimistic and less gloomy than “Black Valentine” but both were copyrighted in 1992 about 6 years after Raymond’s death (poets.org & poetryfoundation.org) May be because they reflect somewhat differing states of grief.

"Facing it" Yusef Komunyakaa

In "Facing it" Yusef Komunyakaa is visiting the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial. We find him in the beginning of the poem to have quite a reluctance to “face it”. The author experiences an internal conflict that he thought he was prepared for, yet he finds himself at the mercy of his suddenly weakened state of mind. Yusef Komunyakaa feels that he blends into the black granite wall as if merging into another dimension. This dimension is filled with the atrocity of the war and the poet feels as if he is reliving his past “I touch the name Andrew Johnson;/ I see the booby trap's white flash.”

Very powerful feelings are conveyed to the reader through the choice of the author’s rhythm, it is as if we are inside his head and are seeing and feeling the same as he does “I said I wouldn't,/ dammit: No tears./ I'm stone. I'm flesh.”

This poem is an interesting insight into the mind of a war veteran how one might feel when exposed to an object that remind them of the horrific vents of their past. For instance, I do not consider that I am ignorant, however I personally barely feel anything at the War memorial. There was only once I felt something at a memorial wall I visited recently, and that required seeing a armor shell and the damage it left when it hit the ground. How much more traumatic and vivid this visit to memorial would be for a soldier that fought this battle?! However, I never appreciated the existence and never understood the purpose of war memorials until this poem! Thank you Yusef Komunyakaa!

In Elizabeth Bishop’s poem "The Fish" a very peculiar turn of events take place. The poetess “paints” the day she caught a grand fish, that has obviously eluded many previous captures by skilled fisherman, which is implied by her description of the sorts of fishing lines that are visible from the fish’s mouth. These fishing lines and hooks hang as metaphorical medals for escaping many nearly successful captures.

Bishop’s description of the fish’s decrepit appearance lets the reader know how ancient this fish really is. Yet Bishop uses positive imagery to describe the withered scales that otherwise would shine and glisten by comparing their appearance to ancient wallpaper and roses (opposed to rusting or rotting per say).

What is most interesting to me is the change of mood in the end

” and victory filled up
the little rented boat,
from the pool of bilge
where oil had spread a rainbow
around the rusted engine
to the bailer rusted orange,
the sun-cracked thwarts,
the oarlocks on their strings,
the gunnels — until everything
was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow!
And I let the fish go.”

In this finale Bishop understands that she is the only one who caught this monstrosity of a fish, that it surrendered to her; she is overjoyed with sense of victory and feeling of fulfillment (which is portrayed in repetition of the word “rainbow”) and out of her respect for the age and previously victorious battles of this fish – she lets it go.

This poem shows a very interesting glimpse of connection between species, the human nature of looking into things and connecting to it by finding human characteristics them.

And so it begins...

Wecome to my ENG 42 Blog, here you will find some incoherent rambling of personal opinions regarding peotry i shall read during the course of this semester!