Emily's+Poetry+Log+(January)

Favorite Line(s): "That I am the type of person who shoves things in the closet before guests arrive." || Favorite Line(s): "Then one by one the ladybirds appeared/obeying some far purpose or design." || Favorite Line(s): "look upon the scattered cars all come to rest here/like boats in China, floating on a quiet evening tide." || Favorite Line(s): "a honeybee bumbling in the bleeding heart/on my gelding’s grave" || Favorite Line(s): "So let’s walk the ruins, let’s walk along the ocean/and listen to death’s undying devotion." || Favorite Line(s): "the bells/of emptied IVs tolling through hallways" || Favorite Line(s): "When/lightning cracked across the cliff –/(like quick pale flicks of yak-hair/fly-whisks) – he stayed steady." || Favorite Line(s): "how powerful we’d grown/by getting drivers’ licenses, how tall and total/our new perspective, above that rusty keyhole/parents squinted through." || Favorite Line(s): "The land is full of what was lost." || Favorite Line(s): You slow down to watch cumulus clouds stream across the sky." || Favorite Line(s): "But in the midst of play/rituals miss a beat" || Favorite Line(s): "Once, I lit three twigs and fanned the smoke,/from miles away,/into the girl who jumbled scales through my spine." || Favorite Line(s): "“You’ve made stew,” my mother says/when I hold up the whole pot to the camera./They laugh and say I must get married soon./I turn off the computer and eat alone. " ||
 * || **Date** || **Title** || **Poet** || **Comments** ||
 * 68 || January 3, 2012 || [|The New Dentist] || Jaimee Kuperman || The poem "The New Dentist" touches on the main themes of keeping up a good appearance in public, as well as new changes that do not make a difference at all. Although the speaker is seemingly driving along a new road to see a new dentist, she describes the surrounding scenery as if eveything she passes is familiar, such as "the McDonalds that I don't go to," and "The Courthouse and the Old Courthouse." The two courthouses are also described with general indifference, which suggests that there is no great contrast between the old and the new. The speaker continues by stating that she knows the things the new dentist will say to her, and suggests that all dentists are the same no matter how new or old. But despite the speaker's belief that there is no great difference between the new and the old, she "brush[es her] teeth before going in" to the dentist's office in order to keep up her reputation and appearance, since she doesn't "want him to know [she] keep[s] an untidy mouth." The speaker also suggests she only brushes her teeth for the new dentist, and not for the old, as they are more familiar with one another. At the end of the poem, the speaker reveals that she is the "type of person who shoves things in the closet before guests arrive," which further emphasizes the speaker's desire to hide her less positive traits.
 * 69 || January 3, 2012 || [|Summer of the Ladybirds] || Vivian Smith || "Summer of the Ladybirds" reflects upon the ideas of persistance as well as the short lived nature of happiness and dreams. The arrival of the ladybirds in the summer brings joy and color to the speaker's life. The speaker suggests that we can "learn wisdom watching insects," as they appear "one by one...obeying some far purpose or design." The speaker suggests that although there is no real dictator forcing the ladybirds to migrate in the summer, they do so naturally. The speaker seems to appreciate this phenomenon of migration as well as the organization with which the ladybirds group themselves, "shuffling in a line." The speaker seems to strike a friendship with the ladybirds during their stay, sharing the joy of sweet jam. Although the ladybirds seem small and weak, they are able to persist and migrate thousands of miles. The speaker describes the ladybirds as "refugees," suggesting that these insects are always moving, but remain persistant and dedicated. The ability of these ladybirds to survive the harsh conditions they are created for seems to give the speaker hope that she may learn to be as headstrong as these insects. However, at the end of the poem a storm arrives and the ladybirds disappear, signifying a vanishing of the speaker's hopes of being as strong as the ladybirds.
 * 70 || January 5, 2012 || [|Almost Nowhere in the World, as Far as Anyone Can Tell] || Dick Allen || In the poem "Almost Nowhere in the World, as Far as Anyone Can Tell," the speaker reflects on the beauty of past and present Chinese culture. The speaker illustrates an older China by describing the "parrots, wheels, right-turning conch shells, victory banner, and the endless knot..." while "sip[ping] Tsingtao beer." Throughout the poem the speaker alternates between the old and new China, going back to traditional Chinese cuisine such as Mongolian beef and Buddhist Delight, but also describing the modernized food of ice-cream and pizza for children. The speaker reveals that he is experiencing this Chinese culture in a restaurant of a very modernized mall near a road; the insulated environment of a developed city. Yet, he also describes how "pleasant" it is "to linger outside the door" as people used to as they met at traditional teahouses. While the speaker reveals the industrialized and developing country of China, he also suggests that the beauty of the old China remains within these developments. At the same time, however, the speaker seems to be mocking the developing country, as conveyed by the rhetoric used within the poem, and by continuously interrupting the joy of traditional Chinese culture with the mockery of modern goods.
 * 71 || January 12, 2012 || [|Whereof the Gift Is Small] || Maxine W. Kumin || In the poem "Whereof the Gift Is Small," the speaker conveyes the beauty that comes with death. The speaker describes in striking detail within a very short poem the beauty of the "fading lilacs," "buttercups," and the "honeybee bumbling" that surround the corpse of a gelding's (horse) grave. Although the gelding is revealed to be rotting while "beetles swarm him underground," the flowers above the grave are beautiful, with "rich new grass" growing above it. The speaker suggests that with the darkness of decay can come the small gift of beauty and color.
 * 72 || January 12, 2012 || [|Death Gets into the Suburbs] || Michelle Boisseau || In the poem "Death Gest into the Suburbs," the speaker conveys "death's undying devotion," and its omnipresent nature. The poem illustrates death's infiltration of the suburbs, which emphasizes the widespread nature of death as the suburbs are often seen as beautiful residential areas, illustrated with joy. The speaker describes the many ways death encroaches upon suburban territory, emphasizing the ability of death to defeat the beauty of life by contrasting death's entrance with the beauty of the suburban scenery. In the first stanza, death is said to "sweat into the tongue and groove of redwood decks with a Tahoe view," and the "friendly crow sets out walnuts to pop under tires." The speaker also illustrates the many different methods of death, as if to remind us that death can happen at any moment, no matter how trivial or grave; "There’s death by taxi, by blood clot, by slippery rug./Death by oops and flood, by drone and gun." Through this poem, the speaker reminds us that death is unavoidable by stripping us of the delusion that life and beauty can trump the darkness of death.
 * 73 || January 13, 2012 || [|Leaving the Hospital] || Anya Silver || The poem "Leaving the Hospital" illustrates the speaker's rejuvinating experience of departing from an institution for the ill. The speaker contrasts the hospital environment with that of the outside, contrasting the warmth and light of escape with the darkness and pain of the hospital rooms and the expectancy of imminent death. The speaker describes the things in the hospital as sounds of an ominous song, "the nighttime cries of a man withered child-size by cancer, and the bells of emptied IVs tolling through hallways." The speaker conveys joy to be able to experience once again the mysteriousness of life, the unknowingness of what will happen in the future (in contrast with the perhaps constant through of death in the hospital). The speaker emphasizes the life that comes with leaving the hospital in a metaphor as "an orange moth dives into the basket of roses/that lately stood on my sickroom table,/and the petals yield to its persistent/nudge, opening manifold and golden." Through this illustration, the speaker suggests the closed and duller nature of the roses within the hospital, in contrast with their blossoming with life as she leaves. The gold color of the roses and the orange moth emphasize the brightness of life outside the hospital.
 * 74 || January 17, 2012 || [|The Kite] || Judith Beveridge || In the poem "The Kite," the speaker is a monk who witnesses a boy flying a kite. He describes the incident with images of nature and description of peace, reflecting his own lifestyle as a monk-- "an insect targeting a sting," "a tiny bird in mid-air coutship." The speaker conveys great appreciation for the apparent talents of the boy, applauding how "he could make it climb in any wind' and "let it roil in rapturous finesse." The monk believes that this kite is special in some way and thus inquires whether "it was made of special silk" or a "particular string," and even "what he'd heard while holding it." These inquiries suggest the monk's belief that such a phenomenon of finesse kite flying can only be accomplished by the hand of a god. However, when the boy asks of the monk's "alms bowl" and his religious gown, the monk realizes that his own thoughts and principles "sound illusory" and that one such as this boy would not understand. At this point, the monk seems to have come to a turning point in his faith, a time in which he questions and may doubt the truth of his religion.
 * 75 || January 17, 2012 || [|Rental Tux] || Bill Trowbridge || In the poem "Rental Tux," the speaker conveys the tux's "chafed" nature, "like some new skin we'd grown," illustrating the tux's irritating texture on the skin as one wears it. The speaker then conveys how this chafed tux shapes and "pinches" us into a new being by giving us the appearance that we have become "powerful" as "princes." By simply wearing new clothes and changing our appearance, we have changed to look taller and more successful. We borrow this appearance just as we have rented the tux to achieve the goals we want in life such as "getting drivers' licenses." The poem ends with the phrase "No lie," which is ironic as the facade of the tux is essentially a form of deception, giving ourselves the appearance of a person that we are not.
 * 76 || January 17, 2012 || [|Arrowhead Hunting] || A.E. Stallings || The poem "Arrowhead Hunting" reminisces on the stories that artifacts from the past may tell. The speaker uses the idea of finding arrowheads in the land as a metaphor for the numerous things we can learn from artifacts of the past. The speaker sees these artifacts as hidden treasures, describing the arrowheads in much detail while pondering the histories the arrowheads may have experienced. The speaker allows the audience to feel that they have been transported back to the past to witness the event. The speaker conveys a deep appreciation for the artifacts he has discovered, considering their histories while at the same time establishing an aura of mystery towards their existence.
 * 77 || January 23, 2012 || **[|The Vanishing Point]** || Emily Warn || "The Vanishing Point" begins in second person, with the speaker describing a dreamlike and tranquil journey "you" take. Throughout the journey, a motif of clouds hangs overhead, emphasizing the peacefulness of the surroundings. The speaker suggests a sense of ambiguity and mystery as she reveals the infinite nature of the things that surround "you." The speaker then abruptly begins to describe something that vividly contrasts tranquility and peace established in the first half of the poem. The speaker transitions from an ambiguous angle to a more specific one, in which she describes the particular event of the death of an Iraqi. The scene is described grotesquely and emphasizes the violence that is involved in the Iraqi's death. The speaker reveals that the Iraqi's ribs are missing for the trial that is to take place and that "they are in a refrigerator in Washington D.C," suggesting that the man's body was torn or taken apart. The speaker reveals the "infinite pain" the Iraqi must feel in his death, and reveals the inability for the man to ever communicate himself again.
 * 78 || January 27, 2012 || **[|Drowning in Wheat]** || John Kinsella || "Drowning in Wheat" illustrates the naturally mischievous and adventurous inclinations of children. Although "they'd been warned/on every farm/that playing/in the silos/would lead to death," the children still fail to obey these warnings and find adventure within the silos. They play games in this reputedly dangerous place for a long time, and it "became a kind of test/to see how far they could sink/without needing a rope/to help them out." The speaker describes the game as a "ritual," suggesting that the children keep up their fun for a long time before a mistake occurs, causing one child to slip into the wheat silo, unable to get back out. The children now experience the effects of fear; fear of their parents' anger, fear of their friend's harm, and fear of action. It seems that the children choose silence over the risk of severe punishment and try to figure out their own way to resolve the situation. But this silence unfortunately leads to an unrepairable consequence of death.
 * 79 || January 27, 2012 || [|Wizard] || Ray Amorosi || In this poem, the "Wizard" faces the challenge of being unable to control his abilities and powers. He is a "poor wizard" who merely causes "havoc" to those around him, lighting fires, causing toenails to fall off, and making people disappear. The wizard seems sad at these occurrences, as he seems to be a man whose goal is to help others. The wizard's struggles illustrate how difficult some things can be, and that often our intentions and our actions may not match up.
 * 80 || January 27, 2012 || [|Potato Soup] || Daniel Nyikos || "Potato Soup" contrasts the modern youth with the older generations, at the same time showing the speaker's attempts to transition into independence and the perception the older generation has on youth. The speaker "set[s] up [her] computer and webcam in the kitchen," showing her more modern habits. Cooking potato soup "for the first time alone," the speaker conveys that this is a time that she is forced to be independent due to the absence of her mother and aunt. The speaker seems to be very determined yet uncertain while she is making potato soup and constantly looks to her mother and aunt for advice and guidance. The knowledge that the older generation holds in contrast to the speaker shows the difference in their childhoods, in which the speaker seems to be more dependent than her guardians were in their youth. The speaker's mother and aunt tease the speaker after she completes her task of making potato soup, causing the speaker to feel discouraged and disappointed, as she abruptly turns off her computer to eat, seemingly without saying goodbye to her mother or aunt.