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!