The male gold finches are almost back to complete yellow in Michigan, so we should check out a poem about spring.
A Color of the Sky by Tony Hoagland : The Poetry Foundation [poem] : Find Poems and Poets. Discover Poetry.
Tony Hoagland's name has come up a few times here, so let's look at "A Color of the Sky." From the one-line stanza in the middle to the end, I like this poem a lot. However, I wonder how many of the words, lines, and stanzas up to that point need to be present to set the stage.
So guess where we are: back at that familiar conversation about casual chat or conversation compared (contrasted) to poetry. I'm choosing "A Color of the Sky" in part because I think it walks that line, traces those boundaries, and I wonder how folks respond to that.
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OK, I love this poem (it is new to me) in so many ways!
ReplyDelete1. The guy is totally all over the place. He is as manic as I am most days!!!
2.He brings in allegory right away. Gotta love that in a poet.
3. Infant chlorophyll? Why didn't I ever think of that? It is so graphically expressive!
4. From now on, when I see A loves B, my first thought is gonna be "does B love A?" I laughed! We all know Memory loves Time. But does Time even care about Memory? Again, it is so graphic, I paused to diagram it out over and over.
5. Did the 'end that turned out to be a middle' have to do with X who he dreamed about? Was it really not over but just a middle, a tunnel?
6. Nature, when it is blooming, is totally obscene in beauty! Again, why didn't I think of this?
Hoagland brings up so many topics. "If you bring it up, you finish it" applies here. Meaning, don't leave us hanging over his dream girl.
Thanks for the good spirit you shared with this one, Banjomyn.
BrAZ, I most completely agree with your point 6. I'm not sure I disagree with anything you say, tho' I obviously don't know how manic you are or aren't.
ReplyDeleteMost importantly, I'm glad you gave us these ideas. I wonder a bit if he gives us enough on the old love, X. And do you think Marie is his current love or just last night's hostess?
I agree that his plopping allegory in there right away is a good stroke--if he needs to mention allegory at all.
Less generously, I now think it's only the last 12 lines that hit with the right amount and kind of hammer (laser?). I could puzzle for a long time about how much prior to that needs to be there. Most? Some? None?