If I told him by Gertrude Stein

If I told him by Gertrude Stein

 

This poem left quite an impression on the class during the poem reading session. Up to now, I don’t really know what this poem is about. I first thought if this as a very likely rap song or a club remix of sorts. It’s so amusing that of all the poems, this was one of the longest. The poem is written as “A completed portrait of Picasso” apparently. It’s a nice way of seeing it; a painting in words. I see Picasso’s paintings having little to none structure much like the poem. So maybe the poem doesn’t really have to make sense; or is made to not have any sense. I don’t think “Shutters shut and shutters and so shutters / shut and shutters and so and so shutters”  are meant to have any sense in them. Sense doesn’t necessarily equate to meaning. I do believe that there is something in this poem that means more than what is written.

The woman inside by Michael C. Blumenthal

The woman inside by Michael C. Blumenthal

 

This poem is quite an inspirational one especially for men. Underneath the tough exterior, there is a woman inside of a man. And it’s not just any woman; the woman inside is a knowing guide, a fertile mother, a Halcyone and a Eurydice. Amidst all these qualities, the woman seems to be downplayed as “not beautiful / or divine”. Maybe this puts an emphasis on the woman’s interior rather than her exterior; much like the man having a woman inside. Of course , the woman here is not a real woman. The woman really is inside the man, like the female portion of the man’s  being. Perhaps that’s why the poem ended with the lone word “alone”. The woman inside can also show that a man is tender inside much like the use of the words “lilac” or “lust / only tenderness gone wild” I think men ought to read this to show that being a man doesn’t just mean being brusko¸for a lack of a better word; and women ought to read this to show that men are more than what they think they are.

One Art by Elizabeth Bishop

 One Art by Elizabeth Bishop

I thought this poem was simpler and easier compared to the others. The in-denial tone that the persona had was actually evident especially as one goes further into the poem. The villanelle apparently has to have the same third line or has to end with the same word. The shift between master and disaster seems like a race then. It seems like a struggle between the persona trying to convince herself that the art of losing isn’t hard to master or if it really is a disaster. I also found the lines closed in parentheses to function as a pause of sorts. In the last stanza the persona seems to be reluctantly accepting the fact that losing is a disaster. Th. The parentheses then serve as pauses that displays a reluctance of the persona to ae poem did end with “disaster” and not “master”ccept the fact that loss is quite difficult. And I agree, loss is something I really fear and something I may never be able to master.

Sorting Laundry by Elisavietta Ritchie

Sorting Laundry by Elisavietta Ritchie

 

Of course, I had to keep a closer eye on this poem since I was required to report on it. Sometimes pressure really makes one see the poem though. It took a while for the message of the poem to set in; I had to read the poem a bunch of times although that always seems to be the case. Looking back now, I guess it was a bit silly to match every piece of clothing with a deep abstract reflection on the persona’s or the author’s relationship. Like the “wrinkles / to be smoothed” refered to the bumps in a relationship or the “surprises: forgotten matches, / [and] lost screws” representing the unpredictability of a relationship. I find it strange yet amusing that the persona finds the joy in sorting laundry. Socks remind her of Noah’s Ark and pillowcases still “[hold their] dreams”. And the fact that she does this everyday is just amusing; she must be really happy with their relationship. Then the “….” In line 42 happens and everything changes; I guess sorting laundry is only fun if you have someone to sort it with.