DDCPoetry

Original poem reprinted online here:  "Amidst The Flowers A Jug of Wine" by Li Po Originally read: March 17, 2013 More information about the Poet:  Li Po Translations are hard to analyze.  Is the translator close to original text or not?  What is missed due to the transfer of language.  Regardless of bias or misinterpretation, I chose this poem because of how the images work -- they have qualities of persona, symbolism, and straight up Imagism, but they are explored and internalized to a certain degree where, I feel, the speaker, the moon, and the shadow have equal screen time, but different purposes. Yes, in most Li Po poems there's something about being drunk.  And in some ways, the introduction of wine -- something that distorts reality when drunk to much, is needed to loosen the readers own perceptions, creating the "suspension of belief" when the speaker personifies the moon and his shadow. And this is where the merge between image/symbolism come in, b...

Original poem reprinted online here: "Surface Tension" by Chelsea Rathburn Originally read: March 8, 2013 More information about the Poet:  Chelsea Rathburn The poem is in quatrains and there is no particular rhyme scheme.  There are moments of sound in this poem that has a lingering effect, "close" and "lows" in stanza two; however, there's also some repetition that doesn't fit for me, "pleasure."  And this is what I think the goal of the poem is in a sense, that there's some sonic good times that pushes the theme of awkwardness, but there's awkwardness in the repetition which comments on how the theme is utilized.  Awkward. Any the set-up the poem is a 1st person collective we narrative and this is why I find the form interesting.  With quatrains, there's always a sense of togetherness, balance in a sense -- with the awkwardness there's also the comfort (familiarity? complacency?).  So I feel the quatrains strengthens an...

Original poem reprinted online here: "Late Confession" by Gary Soto Originally read: February 20, 2013 More information about the Poet: Gary Soto The reoccurring image here is the orange.  Not only in this poem but from the poem " Oranges" also by Gary Soto .  Did I pick this up on my first read? Nope.  So I bring this up first because I wonder how much of a conversation this poem and "Oranges" have with one another.  Is it only the image?  Or is there contextualization issue where one image of the orange in a poem brings a different light to another image of the orange  The idea behind this is focusing how poems connect with each other, perhaps through a collection, or solo. As of now though, I only have this poem by itself, and, although I have read "Oranges",  I feel that this poem stands on it's own and the image of the orange (and also others) within the poem creates unrepentant nostalgia. So late confession stands for a confession in th...

Original poem reprinted online here: "Shanidar, Now Iraq" by Sarah Lindsay Originally read: January 28, 2013  More information about the Poet: Sarah Lindsay When I reread this poem, I thought the images were odd, but felt strong which offsets the burdening of heavy baggage words. "Tower" has become one of those words.  And, I feel for a very long time, "Iraq" is one of those words as well -- at least in the context to American politics and literature.  Yes, America did invade Iraq, twice. And like all wars, there are always people that want to do something about the situation.  However, the title, "Shanidar, Now Iraq" has brought in a historical context. Ah, now I see. Anyway, I'll get to that in a bit.  In the first stanza I wrote, "The surreal opening line sets up a surreal tone, duh, right, but it's not over the top surreal -- anthropomorphizing bones and flesh."  And so the first paragraph goes about  bones. Then the second ...