Poems for August 4

3 Haiku from Akitsu Quarterly

Give-Away Song by Gwen Westerman

Bats by William Heyen

Today I think I'll be a doorknob by David Yockel

Letter to Someone Living Fifty Years from Now  by Matthew Olzmann

United by Naomi Shihab

The two  August 4 sessions were special in so many ways!  First, my thanks to everyone for the concern about the Delta variant... the use of masks, zoom still part of our landscape... and the wonderful GOOD HUMOR as we navigated the hybrid session.

I opened by showing  Le Mot Juste, now in the Pittsford Library and reading the last page with Thomas Warfield's reflection, The Poetic Path. Indeed, Poetry feeds us forever inside and out".  Jim added this quote from Shelley:

“Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar.”

Haiku:  It is a challenge to understanding this form from vastly different culture and language.  I had no information  about the writers of the three haiku chosen.  It was a joy  to see how the first group of 9 responded, suggesting changes in line order and ending up with the idea of the three providing bones for a story!  In the second hybrid group of 18, I heard very different comments: an appreciation of bioluminescence in the first haiku stressed  rather than seeking syntactical sense.

crossing the lake as first line provides a sense of lake as cosmos... and the non-specified subject of who/what is crossing...  The third haiku for one, had responses from "not evocative enough" to "rife with implication".  Both groups agreed the second haiku gave a sense of resurrection with the pull between death and  life, (leaping as trout)... Judith reminded us that "The Japanese can cheat on the syllable count" by added an extra "ka" (which syntactically is related to turning a statement into a question!).  Lori was reminded of the style and feel of William Carlos Williams, "Red Wheelbarrow". 

For such a small collection of syllables, (not chained to 5-7-5 arrangement) not only did we have a fine discussion, but also had the feeling of playing a very pleasant party game.

Give-Away Song: both groups listened to Gwen Westerman read her poem and were taken by the very slow, chant-like style which contrasted sharply with how one imagine imagine the sound from simply reading.  The shift from give-away (gift-sharing, so misunderstood by those driving the Dakota off their land, persecuting children in boarding schools) to give-way -- a "way" as a manner of living inherent in a life-outlook, gave the poem an added note of solemnity.  Marna brought up the Navaho "blessing way"; 

Judith brought up the fact that singing enhances just about anything and the fun of imitating rhythms,

so Longfellow's Hiawatha can be imitated as parody by Stephen Leacock, and the listener will at first be hard-pressed to know the difference.

Bats: We read the poem in two equal parts of 4 1/2 couplets.  What a wealth of response from the children's book, Bats at the Beach, to Die Fledermaus and calling on expressions such as "bats in the belfry" and "going bats", not to mention Rose Marie's real bat...   Not everyone appreciates poetic leaps, and what some might think is too clever a mismatch (meta-time, angelic membranes) others think are delightfully in keeping with the "coal mines in our skulls" and the brains' vellum-- all of us "monks illuminating a hymnal called The Book of the Bat" ! Paul reminded us that harbinger has another meaning of manuscript, which helped the verbal 'cursive'.  Certainly by the end of the discussion, anything perceived as awkward fit in an appreciation of rich travel from dark to light...  thinking about bats... and unfathomed caverns...  

Martin noted this about Paul:  you say you are critical, but your voice is giving the message that you making comments in good humor! Interesting -- just like singing a poem, vs. reading it -- two very different interpretations!

Today, I think I'll be a doorknob

We picked up on some underlying hurt... the rather flip start, reaching out, tongue-in-cheek association with objects... and universal problems  such as feeling like a human doormat... 

The power of the imagination draws us in by the absurdity... and the almost reassuring statement of

knowing whatever happens, the speaker's feet will indeed hit the ground.   

 We had no problem picking up on the metaphors— the mayfly who only lives one day…

the classification of bar stool as totally necessary (in some situations) or ornamental,

like stained-glass windows… the fear we all have… waiting for a light, wondering

what the weather will do to our surface, like the candle and lake… “committed to

heat, reflection, (doomed to) erasure”.  Hard not to think of passion… the importance of thinking… 

and the inevitable end for us all when our physical death comes. 

There’s a sort of melancholy in between the lines as Yockel sketches creative ways 

to address mood changes… arriving at a sense of peace… and the clincher — the return

to the human hand, holding a pen, etching thought into words addressed to a friend.

Letter to Someone... Emily was reminded of a poem we read sometime back about elephant ivory and piano keys... Certainly a timely poem, although written 4 years ago.  As I pointed out in the note, it was used for the American Academy's "teach this poem" with reference to five other poems.

Marne brought up a conversation she heard on WXXI between Millenials and Baby Boomers... 

the anger of the former... the day and night responses of the latter.  I suspect the "We" in this poem

is all of the human race... which, even if you do not participate in dousing a lawn with chemicals,

are careful about supporting healthy farming practices, ecological mindfulness, etc, indeed, our

planet has an unremovable history of trash, as noun and verb.  Olzmann's poem starts off with an apologetic kindness-- "most likely" and "it must seem" and "you probably doubt" leave room for bees to pollinate even a small euphoria of flowers.  Absolutely...and I assure...  smack of two types of transcendence needed: (Ego: self: beyond ego; self-transcendence: beyond the self:) and indeed, once can hope for the third (spiritual transcendence: beyond space and time.) although it seems highly unlikely any understanding of it will be arrive, or save the bees from dying..

United:  Who knew of the fun one can poke with State Mottos.  New York was not included... but what might you have to say about "Excelsior"?  It is good to laugh, to meet the irony of "united" in the title,

and Naomi's questions!