Poems for May 20+22

 Excerpt from "The Prélude"by William Wordsworth; How to Dress a Star by Nicholas Goodly; May And The Poets by James Henry Leigh Hunt; Sonnet by Boccaccio; One Evening by W. H. Auden; Touching and Being Touched  by Jenny George;  i am running into a new year by Lucille Clifton

Excerpt from The Prelude

Even though written almost 200 years ago, the 4 lines chosen seemed appropriate for contemporary times.  There are varying viewpoints about solitude, how sometimes  it is associated negatively with introversion, and how COVID put a negative spin on it. 

 

Prélude was written in 1798, when Wordsworth was 28 years old.   For those interested in the contrast between Wordsworth and Keats, both "Titans" in their time period, apparently Keats initially admired Wordsworth's genius, but grew increasingly critical of the elder poet's later conservatism and self-importance. He once wrote that he admired "half of Wordsworth"—likely preferring his earlier, more emotionally raw work. While Wordsworth (1770–1850) established the movement's focus on nature and memory, Keats (1795–1821) pushed Romantic poetry toward pure sensory beauty and "Negative Capability". (Embrace of uncertainty, mystery, and doubt without aggressively trying to figure it all out.)

 

The sonnet   "the world too much with us" by Wordsworth comes to mind-- and the criticism of humankind's lust for "things" and "power". 

The photo below is a perfect illustration  of  the serenity of a meditative solitude.  Indeed, no harm seems possible.

 

Serenity by Dick Bennett -- on view at Image City Gallery

722 University Ave, Rochester, NY 14607

 

How to Dress a Star:  Knowing that Nicholas Goodly is both Black and Queer might change how you see the word "color" in the 3rd stanza.  For those who don't know the word "morpher" it comes from the Power Rangers, which Goodly expands upon in the next 3 couplets following.

 

The title is intriguing with a hint of child-like imagination.  It could be deciding which costume to wear to be a celestial point of light or a movie or rock star, or to actually put clothes on a star, which does not require clothing.   After seeing how neatly Goodly portrays the past, segues into the present in the 8th couplet, the idea of how we dress, how we make art,  to save "part of the whole" expands into the larger idea hinting at becoming whole in oneself to do the work of repair for all.  Some related to the "same costume" idea, not needing to think about how one looks or will be judged by others;  some brought up pros and cons of soap bubbles, which aren't necessarily a guaranteed delight for all children, especially the giant ones. 

 

We examined the two spots where Goodly leaves a space :  3rd couplet: flamboyant color...   at all times

which emphasizes the enjambment... at all time /a solid-karat morpher or perhaps stresses separation between color and morpher.  The second time, 7th  couplet, did I believe things hard...

back then, the focus is not on the next couplet but puts the accent on "believe things hard", as both "really, really, really believe" and "hard" as difficult, or even, as opposed to those soap bubbles, tangibly hard, as in solid.  

 

There is a delightful tone, a lilt to the language and rhythm and something almost whimsical to the piece. The final couplet seems quite serious in contrast which is somewhat puzzling especially as it veers away from the ambiguous title.

 

May: Leigh Hunt (1794-1859) certainly knows his classics! For those wanting to know more about each poet mentioned enjoy the hyperlinks:  16th c. Spenser; 17th c. Milton; bridging 17-18thc. Prior; 14th c. Chaucer, Short-lived Scotsman (early 18th) Thomson, 18th c. Dyer.

 

May, may, may, may!!!!  There is certainly a celebration about this month in our northern hemisphere where traditionally April is known for its fickle swings of temperature and winds, but May expands into a flowering omnipresence that leaves one feeling content and optimistic.  So it is with this sonnet.   

 

Sonnet:  back to the 14th century, with a translation by the 19th century Rossetti (brother of Christina).  We discussed the use of the parentheses which inserts the poet into the telling of the story.  It reminds me of this painting Opal by Swedish Impressionist,  Anders Leonard Zorn,

where you feel you are "eavesdropping" or peeping in on a scene that should be private.  

One person remarked how the indentations in the two quatrains felt like the lines are being cupped in ones hands.  

 

One Evening: to hear Auden read it: In the opening quatrain, one doesn't know if the wheat is blowing in the wind, or scythed.  The juxtaposition of love song, and ominous chime of the clock indeed has the clock carry on as witness of the Grim Reaper.  The last five stanzas recount what time sees continuing with the foretelling of  the future, looking back at all that is over.  "The crack in the tea-cup opens/A lane to the land of the dead". We enjoyed the use of references to stories -- how the adventure and lure of conquer is enchanting to Jack (WW1, although this is written in 1939, so perhaps refers to the preliminaries before the second World War);  A "Roarer" in 17th century London slang is a street brawler. the Lily-white boys is part of a "teaching song" about the Prophets, so would refer to John the Baptist, and Jesus, was born without original sin.  See: Green Grow the Rushes-Ho  Jill on her back is yet another reversal.  

For the last line, one might be reminded of the movie, A River Runs Through It. Auden expands on the river metaphor here

 

Touching:  One could discuss this short poem at length, telling and re-telling all possible ways to understand this snippet of a story.  The unexpected turns, the short sentences, especially the shiver of the one in the fourth line of the trembling liquid, along with the compression into nine lines, the parallel chokecherry and wind all are part of highly skilled story telling.  Is the first fellow the same as the one in the penultimate line?

The reciprocity implied in the title  reflects in the final line -- "to make it even"... and then...

 

i am running:  What wisdom!  What is it we say to ourselves? Does it change over the years? Why do we seek forgiveness?  If you read this poem fast, breathlessly, perhaps you gulp for air at i beg what i love and/// i leave --

forgive me -- it's a new page and I'm running-- 

 

This is the kind of poem that invites each reader to pen a response.  Here is one offered 

by James Cox. Response to Lucille Clifton by Jim Cox

Regarding the poem, “I am Running into a New Year.”

 

There is no forgiveness

In the past.

There is no fortune

In the future.

Only the present exists,

The gift of the moment

That allows all our movement,

That guarantees the switch.

So, if you want yourself

To forgive yourself,

Stand outside beneath a tree,

Smile – Set yourself free.

 

  

 

Note to Dick Bennett about his photo "Serenity" 

 What a trip to Myanmar that must have been!  I love how you captured a sense of balance between the natural beauty of the impressive mountains with the echo of the roof of the small viewing station and the very small person, how the eye can gently brush footsteps on the bridge to join in. 

My  breath literally felt "taken away" -- but then returned to me, renewed,  eyes and spirit are refreshed, able to rest in tranquil contemplation.  All cares and worries disappear like mist, and a welcome sense of peace restored. 

Poems for May 27+29

 

At the Entrance of a Love Poem, I Hesitate by Maya C. Popa; Keep My Poems  by Yahya Ashour; 

Poets Walk Poems:  The Writer by William Bronk; Playtime by William Bronk;  The Tally Stick by Jarold Ramsey; Brahma  by Ralph Waldo Emerson;  One Heart  by Li-Young Lee,  excerpt from Nocturno de San Ildefonso by Octavio Paz;  [this last poem was written after the establishment of Poets Walk: Equus by Mary Hood. 

                                                            

Nutshell:

 At the Entrance: This poem intrigued everyone, and we easily could have spent an afternoon appreciating the multiple directions and possibilities of it offers for our understanding.

The title is unusual: A love poem entrance? How might you explain entering a love poem?

Why does the poet hesitate? Is she unsure of the poem, of love, or perhaps offput by the vast

treasury of love poems already written?

Each couplet begs multiple questions, and invites multiple responses, but most everyone agreed,

it did not feel like an exercise in frustration.

again", with regret? What is the implication of leaving through the window?

2nd Couplet: It's a fragment but implies the state of being in love, and then the "after", which

underscores the power of love, even if over, it is a primal shaping force. The word remainder,

could also be "what's left" as in math which echoes in the penultimate couplet as well

(multiplying gravities).

3rd couplet: a welcome image (whale turning slowly mistake for a continent) to explain "the

change" that love sets in motion, and yet as clueless as the gulls.

4th couplet. puzzling. What is the exquisite inquiry? If you don't know, but feel a response, is

that enough? Does it dissolve any question?

The next 5 couplets address the nature of a love poem, it would seem from a writer's point of

view. What are the conventions? Do they do the trick or is she mocking them? One person

wondered if Shakespeare were not doing the same thing in "Shall I compare thee to a summer's

day." How can form, convention "keep up" (note the enjambment/stanza break to emphasize

lagging behind) the heart's multiplying gravities?

The image of a gallery of mirrors, the final mention of "likeness" as a life gives a sense of

process and shaping, where the "we" of the poem could be the poet's lover or special person.

Although using the past tense, one senses it will be on-going and the poem ends on a positive

note.

One could spend a long time discussing how one knows who someone is-- starting with one's

own self. What lies behind a desire to write love poems. There is a lovely authenticity about

Maya Popa. Click the hyperlink to find out more about her, her PhD on wonder in poetry.

Keep My Poems: This title at first blush does not seem to have anything to do with the didactic

implications of form in poetry in the proverb the poet's father used (according to the note, for all

but poetry). How does the poet mean "Keep My Poems"? To whom is he speaking? He speaks

of parts of poems exposed, or tucked in, and uses the verb "lies", which could imply the sense of

poetry not telling truth, but given the context of the stanza, most probably is showing "how

poetry lies in a poet's satisfaction with their blanket". He uses for himself, the verb "pursuit"

which could harken to the historic etymology of going towards (pro) and sequi (to follow). For

those after lines which don't "fit their blankets" he uses the verb "hunt". Is he contrasting his

pursuit of "tender lines, for the sake of beauty"

, with those seeking outside their blankets? The

harsh verb, "amputate" and noun "butcher" evoke jarring images and we wondered if influenced

by his background as exile from Gaza. Yahya Ashour indeed visibly "chops" with two lines of

1only two syllables: exposed in 2nd stanza and for lines in the 3rd stanza, enjambed to that don't

fit their blankets. There are hundreds of different forms poetry can take, which determine the

nature of the message. Free verse has no rules, no set meter, no rhyme scheme, and no structural

requirements. but relies entirely on the natural rhythm of speech, natural pauses, and the poet's

choice of line breaks.

Pairing of poems on Poets Walk with sculptures in the MAG (Memorial Art Museum)

Sculpture Garden

If you wish a complete list of the 114 poems on Poets Walk, with the "poem tile prompts" kindly

let me know. I had done a lot of work with such pairing when Poet and Story walk were initiated

in 2008 as docent, to help appreciate such sculptures as Wailana, Unicorn Family, Creation

Myth, Vertical Ventaglio, 2 lines up-excentric, soliloquy. The poetry chosen for the walk is from

19th and 20th century poets who have a connection with Rochester, whether a visiting lecturer,

connected to BOA publications, DIAL magazine, Rochester Poets, founded in 1920 as the

Rochester, New York, chapter of the Poetry Society of America, or Just Poets (founded in 2004).

The pairings are merely suggestions, and are not intended to establish a formal connection to

either the poems and the sculptures. The poem tiles themselves were the "pithiest" language of

each poem chosen by the designer of the walk to suggest an array of themes

Playtime by William Bronk (1918-1999)

We wondered if "resumes" was the noun, resumé not the verb. The poem indeed hints at the

game of life and applies to the nature of art as a conversation, or theatre.

The Tally Stick by Jarold Ramsey (link to 1985 Rochester Review in which it is printed.)

[paired with Nathan Mabry: Process Art:  (An Eye for an Eye)  

We thought of a totem pole as the collection of our stories carved in Mountain mahogany (a

Northern Mexican wood, also found in the American SW). Arrowheads, crosses, events, history,

evidence of "the Year the World Went Wrong", wars. The metaphor of lengthening runes of our

lives suggests ancient secrets and mysteries. And yet, mention of regrets is followed by the

positive note, of the last 5 lines holding this tally stick, encouraging us to re-examine the signs.

Paired with the Nathan Mabry, an incongruous pairing of an oversized old man's head on a

young body, the outstretched arms are reminiscent of Plato (pointing up) and Aristotle (pointing

down), famously depicted at the center of Raphael's 1509 Renaissance fresco, The School of

Athens. Plato (pointing to the heavens) represents his theory of "Forms," suggesting that true

reality and universal truths exist in an ideal, spiritual realm beyond our physical world. Aristotle

(pointing to the earth): Symbolizes his focus on empiricism, observation, and the material world,

indicating that truth is found by studying the physical nature around us.

Brahma: written in 1856, and published in the November 1857 issue of The Atlantic.  

[paired with Jun Kaneko, Untitled, “Dango}

 It is named for Brahman, the universal principle of the Vedas. The sacred seven symbolizes

powerful deities who aspire for a higher state of being but are hindered by their desires. This

highlights the contrasts between spiritual aspirations and the limitations of earthly cravings.

Paired with the Dango (dumpling in Japanese) by Japanese-American Jun Kaneko.

I hyperlink for those interested in a little more depth.

Versus by Tony Cragg: + Li-Young Lee, One Heart. I showed the importance of walking around a

sculpture, as depending on the angle, one will have a very different view... just as in poetry. We

didn't have time to discuss the poem.

Lines from Octavio Paz + Pia Camil, Lover's Rainbow.

Lover’s Rainbow at the MAG is a 42-foot-wide, 16 1/2-ft tall arc of painted stainless steel rebar. compare with the

one on US-Mexico Border https://desertx.org/dx/archive/lovers-rainbow

 https://zonaoctaviopaz.com/detalle_conversacion/151/nocturno-de-san-ildefonso/

Equus by Mary Hood, paired with Wailana which in Hawaiian means tranquil waters.

The poem is in 4 stanzas, and written after the selection of poets/poems for poets walk.

I want to stress that Poets Walk is not a definitive compendium of poems! It so happens that this ekphrastic is one of the best I have seen for this powerful sculpture by Deborah Butterfield.

Below is the entire poem.

Equus by Mary Hood

to Jody.

Head bowed a scaffolded horse

mummers the ghostly song of wind

moving through skeletal bronze-

is she hurt, exhausted. starved?

something seems not quite right.

Like a found poem with the familiar

refashioned, she was first constructed

of the commonplace, wood, scrap

metal, branches, junkyard stuff, plastic

a collage of the ordinary

then forged in bronze.

In winter snow gathers on her back.

In summer her patina blazes with sunlight.

In spring she gleams with rain droplets-

a horse for all seasons.

She has survived many years

but there comes a time.

She stands alone, riderless, tackless.

She has always been riderless

never owned by anyone but the wind

And if she were to loosen her hoofs

walk off into the distance she would

lift off, smoothly, flowingly

with the fluidity of winged

Pegasus.

Mary, a local poet, is a professor emerita of University of West Florida and has published several collections of

poetry and general articles on conservation and the environment and numerous scientific technical articles in the

field of microbial ecology. You will see it is dedicated to Jody, one of Mary's graduate students who went on to get a

PhD in microbiology and a successful career as a professor at University South Fl and then Dean, a mother,

grandmother, writer. also a championship equestrian rider…. such a beautiful soul..