Small in scale,
Next to a perfectly browned bird,
You sit humbly,
Waiting in place,
With all the family gatherings
you have seen and heard,
Until you are topped with whipped cream
For a sweet
On top of savory taste.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Weekly Poem Blog - Sun 11/20/11
The Possibility"
This poem was definitely one that needed to be read through multiple times before i truly started to see some meaning in it. i really enjoyed how the lines at the end tied everything together. i think this poem refers to all the things in life that we have been told are beautiful but we haven't discover for ourselves that they are beautiful. we haven't seen their potential for ourselves, we were just told it was there and believed. James Fenton didn't just believe though. the beautiful flower wasn't beautiful to him, working was just squandering his solitude, and solitude suddenly was no longer helping him to grow. and all at once, the possibility of these things was gone. all too often in life, we second guess things, and in a moments time, it's too late. the opportunity has been missed. Fenton's diction in this poem is very interesting. why does he choose to use the word "boon" in the second stanza? this is a word i was unfamiliar with. it is used to describe a benefit bestowed on someone, especially in response to a request. it is a timely blessing that is helpful or beneficial. this word is very pointed and specific and fits perfectly the definition of work that we have been taught to believe all our lives. you can't survive in this world without having a job and working to provide for yourself. when you invest time in working, it proves to be a "boon" in your life. i believe the antecedent scenario for this poem was a missed opportunity in Fenton's life which caused him to begin thinking about all the other possibilities that this world presents to us and how often they are so easily brushed aside. Fenton doesn't want us to simply believe the possibilities in this world are beautiful because we have been told they are. he wants us to discover for ourselves the true beauty behind things so that we may then use them to their full potential.
This poem was definitely one that needed to be read through multiple times before i truly started to see some meaning in it. i really enjoyed how the lines at the end tied everything together. i think this poem refers to all the things in life that we have been told are beautiful but we haven't discover for ourselves that they are beautiful. we haven't seen their potential for ourselves, we were just told it was there and believed. James Fenton didn't just believe though. the beautiful flower wasn't beautiful to him, working was just squandering his solitude, and solitude suddenly was no longer helping him to grow. and all at once, the possibility of these things was gone. all too often in life, we second guess things, and in a moments time, it's too late. the opportunity has been missed. Fenton's diction in this poem is very interesting. why does he choose to use the word "boon" in the second stanza? this is a word i was unfamiliar with. it is used to describe a benefit bestowed on someone, especially in response to a request. it is a timely blessing that is helpful or beneficial. this word is very pointed and specific and fits perfectly the definition of work that we have been taught to believe all our lives. you can't survive in this world without having a job and working to provide for yourself. when you invest time in working, it proves to be a "boon" in your life. i believe the antecedent scenario for this poem was a missed opportunity in Fenton's life which caused him to begin thinking about all the other possibilities that this world presents to us and how often they are so easily brushed aside. Fenton doesn't want us to simply believe the possibilities in this world are beautiful because we have been told they are. he wants us to discover for ourselves the true beauty behind things so that we may then use them to their full potential.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Weekly Poem Blog - Sun 11/13/11
"Disillusionment at Ten O'Clock"
This poem seemed very very strange to me.... but there is some insight to be seen in it. I think that this poem is trying to say that people in America are too common place. nobody is living their dreams or breaking away from the conformity of everyday life. all of the night gowns are white. "not purple with green rings, or green with yellow rings, or yellow with blue rings." there is no individualism in our culture. everyone is just a blank white slate, waiting to be discovered. the drunken sailor refers to the sense of lost hope in our country and the red weather seems to be referring to the threat of communism. the antecedent scenario for this poem could have been the oppression of communism in other parts of the world which frightened Wallace Stevens because he saw the conformity in our society and feared how we would react to the threat of a new form of government.
This poem seemed very very strange to me.... but there is some insight to be seen in it. I think that this poem is trying to say that people in America are too common place. nobody is living their dreams or breaking away from the conformity of everyday life. all of the night gowns are white. "not purple with green rings, or green with yellow rings, or yellow with blue rings." there is no individualism in our culture. everyone is just a blank white slate, waiting to be discovered. the drunken sailor refers to the sense of lost hope in our country and the red weather seems to be referring to the threat of communism. the antecedent scenario for this poem could have been the oppression of communism in other parts of the world which frightened Wallace Stevens because he saw the conformity in our society and feared how we would react to the threat of a new form of government.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Weekly Poem Blog - Sun 11/6/11
"The Gift"
I love this poem :) i think this is what life is all about: learning little "gifts" as a child that will stick with you forever and benefit you again in your future. this boy learned from his father how to carefully remove a splinter while distracting the patient just enough so they wouldn't fell any pain. later on in life, when he was married and his wife got a splinter, he remember this "gift" he had learned when he was a child and he pulled it back out again. the antecedent scenario for this poem definitely could have been simply that his wife got a splinter, and it reminded him of his childhood. in the last stanza, Lee refers to a "Little Assassin." at first i was not sure what he was talking about, not now believe the little assassin is his father, carefully trying to "take out" the splinter, as stealthily as possible. he then has some words in italics: "Metal that will bury me." and "Death visited here!" this use of italics gives emphasis to the boys thoughts and the fact that they were not scared or dramatic. the father had successfully soothed his son's fears of the splinter, and now the son remembered his father's gentle touch. the last line state that the boy "did what a child does when he's given something to keep." he kissed his father. and i bet his wife kissed him :)
I love this poem :) i think this is what life is all about: learning little "gifts" as a child that will stick with you forever and benefit you again in your future. this boy learned from his father how to carefully remove a splinter while distracting the patient just enough so they wouldn't fell any pain. later on in life, when he was married and his wife got a splinter, he remember this "gift" he had learned when he was a child and he pulled it back out again. the antecedent scenario for this poem definitely could have been simply that his wife got a splinter, and it reminded him of his childhood. in the last stanza, Lee refers to a "Little Assassin." at first i was not sure what he was talking about, not now believe the little assassin is his father, carefully trying to "take out" the splinter, as stealthily as possible. he then has some words in italics: "Metal that will bury me." and "Death visited here!" this use of italics gives emphasis to the boys thoughts and the fact that they were not scared or dramatic. the father had successfully soothed his son's fears of the splinter, and now the son remembered his father's gentle touch. the last line state that the boy "did what a child does when he's given something to keep." he kissed his father. and i bet his wife kissed him :)
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