Poem found here: "The Oldest Living Thing in L.A." by Larry Levis This narrative poem starts out very close to the subject, the opossum, in a distant manner. The physical description is on point as the setting of after hours bar scene and the reactions. Then in some point in the poem, there's a literary expanse that redirects the poems point of view -- as though the speaker wants this to mean more. By wanting this moment to mean more, the speaker then projects what everyone else's wants. But first, where are we? "At Wilshire & Santa Monica" -- I haven't been there personally, but it's probably somewhere in L.A. -- does that mean that this poem is dependent on place? No and Yes. The poem does go universal in some places, but I feel this poem is specifically talking about what it's like in LA -- the "opossum / Trying to cross the street" becoming more of a symbol based on reaction. And this is what the opossum is trying to do: ...
Formerly the RetailMFA, This is the Poetry Blog of Darrell Dela Cruz