Fish bones walked the waves off Hatteras.
And there were other signs
That Death wooed us, by water, wooed us
By land: among the pines
An uncurled cottonmouth that rolled on moss
Reared in the polluted air.
Birth, not death, is the hard loss.
I know. I also left a skin there.
- Louise Gluck
Death seems to be a common theme in my assigned poems but I agree when Mrs. White says that stronger emotion comes from more serious poetry. At first I believed that this poem was talking about death and the changes that come with it. Life, as in birth, brings changes too. In the 7th line the meaning goes beyond deep. When someone is born into a negative time (like The Road) it is sometimes easier to give up right away. Trying to live through destruction is worse than dieing.
The first line mentions sea creatures and waves. I tried to make some connections and related it to the large BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Death did woo us by water and land when that occurred. I'm not sure what time this poem was written but it does fit wonderfully with this event. The last line could be of a person who helped with the clean up or maybe even was a cause of the spill itself. Feeling guilty for what is happening to all the wild life, he feels he has died a little to, leaving a skin there.
I really like the meaning I found behind this poem. I don't know if this is what Gluck was intending but it is what I got. Great poem!
Interesting connection to the oil spill. I think it is that idea of destruction that she is looking at--also the idea that we can conquer our past?
ReplyDelete"The last line could be of a person who helped with the clean up or maybe even was a cause of the spill itself. Feeling guilty for what is happening to all the wild life, he feels he has died a little to, leaving a skin there."
ReplyDeleteWow, Toni! This is great! The oil spill did not come to mind when I read it, but now that you mention it, I can totally see it! It's so awesome how you connected something so creatively.
And I love your small connection to The Road. And I feel the same way -- like no situation can be that bad to just give up.
Your blog is amazing. :) I loved reading what you had to say on this!