Robert Lowell

I didn't care for Robert Lowell but I also had trouble understanding his poetry. Robert Lowell seemed to write about many of the poeple he knew. I tried "Two Walls" about the death or murder of Martin Luther King and "Robert Frost" who apparently was a good friend. I struggled with the meanings of his poems and wondered why all poets could not have been as clear as Langston Hughes.

Elizabeth Bishop

Elizabeth Bishop is a poet that I was totally unfamiliar with. I read "The Fish". It was extremely descriptive and visual. I'm not sure who I felt more sorry for...the fish at being caught or the fisherman...at catching the fish. Both seem so solemn even when the fisherman feels triumph at his catch. Yet, the end shows a certain amount of joy as the fish is let go. I guess both the fish and the fisherman have overcome. I read a few other poems and in all of them, Elizabeth Bishop is very detailed with her descriptions.

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes is my kind of poet. I had no problem understanding his works. I loved "Mother to Son", and "I, too". I found humor in several of the poems such as "Morning After". All in all, I had a great time reading Langston Hughes.

Hart Crane

Hmmm! I am back to not knowing what I just read. I tried "Repose of Rivers" thinking, "ok", here we go again with another poem on death but I truly am not sure what I just read. The images I thought I understood....the willows carrying only a slight sound, the slow moving wind...all of that goes with a river at rest. But then I get to phrases such as "in the memory of all things nurse" and I go, "what"? I tried another, "At Melville's Tomb". I actually likes this one and got most of the references.

Marianne Moore

Marianne Moore is kind of plain after reading so many poems with abstract meanings. In "The Fish" a fish is a fish and "The Monkeys" are monkeys...at least I hope so! I didn't have any trouble understanding the verses. it reminded me a great deal of National Geographic. I also tried several of her poems that were not about animals or fish. "A Grave" was pretty straight forward poem.

Frost Continued

"Fire and Ice". Well I tend to like apocalyptic movies, so why not pooetry as well! The poem suggests that the ending of the world is inevitable. Will it end by fire or by ice? It sounds as if it will be emotions such as "hate" that will end it all.

Robert Frost's Poetry

I am starting with one of my favorites and one of his most well known, "The Road Not Taken". It's actually earlier in the book on page 48. I remember studying this poem in college and reading somewhere that his inspiration came from being dragged off on evenings walks with a friend. This poem more than many others has actually spoken to me throughout my life as I have wondered at the roads that I did take as opposed to the roads that I did not take. I can see clearly choices that I made that would have led to a different life and as Frost said, "And that has made all the difference."

Emily Dickinson cont.

I did read many more of Emily Dickinson's poems afterall they were short. Many still dealt with death and pain.. but at least they were more understandable. For instance #650 "Pain..." is as it should be. Pain never seems to have a beginning and it takes on a life of its own where you can think of nothing but the pain that you are in. Also, #1078 "The bustle in a house" the morning after a death has occurred is simple and to the point. Everyone that has ever put a loved one to rest goes through this.

Emily Dickinson

I've been reading a few different poems by Emily Dickinson since most of them are short. I stopped and studied several including #449 ( "I died for beauty - but was scarce") and #536 ("The heart asks pleasure - first") but I refuse to contemplate death this week so I am moving on to a lighter poem....I hope!

Walt Whitman Continued

I sincerely hope the poem, "When I heard at the Close of the Day" by Walt Whitman was a love poem...if not...all is lost!

I just had to comment on "Twilight". Even I can see that it is a poem on death...short though it may be. As twilgiht comes...so does the end of our lives.

I had actually forgotten about "Drum-Taps" (poems from the Civil War) and that Walt Whitman himself rushed to find his brother, George, on hearing that he had been wounded and stayed to serve as a nurse. The poem, "The Wound Dresser" is easier to follow with that knowledge.

I must admit, I do much better with the shorter poems. I tend to get lost in the longer ones trying to figure out what they "mean" instead of just enjoying the poem itself. I am also ready for some that are not quite so gloomy!

Poetry featuring Walt Whitman

Whew...I knew this was going to be challenging for me but man oh man! I started by trying to read, "Song of Myself". Big Mistake. I did not understand anything that I was reading so I went back to basics. I copied off the "11 basic steps to reading a poem" and searched for a smaller poem and found "The Dalliance of the Eagles". Much Better. I read the poem...then re-read the poem...the again, re-read the poem. Is this poem actually about a male and female eagle dallying around or is there deeper meaning? So I did what every red-blooded librarian would do...I looked it up on the internet. Of course, there it was...deeper meaning! We as human beings searching for thrills and the joy of living only to find ourselves spiralling down unto death! Well, I re-read the poem again with this in mind.

And so...on I will go to another poem of Walt Whitman's and see if I do any better!

Read and Discover at the Gwd County Library

Hi Y'all! I'm getting ready to learn all there is to know about poetry. I love the YA books that are written in verse so I am excited about this opportunity!