DDCPoetry

Original poem reprinted online here:  "My Dad, In America," by Shann Ray Originally read: January 1, 2013 More information about the Poet:  Shann Ray Now the execution is important here.  The content of the poem is not directly extreme -- father goes out to get some animals for a Cheyenne old woman who gives some sage like wisdom.  Yet this poem is based on subtext upon subtext. "The poem works as a juxtaposition of extremes: gentle.violent, air/land, blood/forgiveness, dead/new.  I question, though, how separate the images are...how intertwined the ideas are." So I reread this poem again and I see what I meant; however, I want to focus on this line, "We need to know in America there is still blood / for forgiveness."  because the line break creates this fragmented extremes. This also occurs in the first two lines "Your hand on my jaw / but gently."  However there's a difference. The jaw/gently line there is a conjunction there -- or rathe...