Eating Without the Poet
(from The Dead I Know), by Burlee
Vang
Again, husband: how many hours have you
spent with your poems? Come sit
beside us now.
Look, the sun is bleeding outside our kitchen,
geese are arrowing from the lake
where you caught that trout. I’ve
prepared it now
the way you love: sectioned & salted,
sprinkled with minced ginger, crushed peppers,
a knot of lemongrass, all
steaming in tinfoil.
Still too much beauty
to speak of, you utter, tapping
at your typewriter. One more couplet for love…
one more image of
war…one more word to resurrect the dead…
Do you know that letting go is
a kind of beauty?
I recall a poem you once recited to our children.
It was not yours, but
you wept anyway. You always
weep for the things that will never be yours.
Tell you what, the children and I will eat alone.
I will take the fish
head now, the sweetest meat--
yes, just like the wife in that
poem.
Remembrance, too, is a kind of beauty. So listen:
write a poem about this
house. Write about
locked windows & doors. About a man standing
outside, turning away, stumbling ghostlike
through ancient pines. A trout
skull is rattling
in his tin pail. Don’t forget the snow
or the winding road, & when words cannot
express that loss all you
poets speak of,
perhaps then, darling, you’ll think of us.
Poetry explication:
This poem dramatizes the conflict between the two worlds of the
poet: the perfect but illusive world of the ideals and the imperfect but
material world of physical pleasures.
Indeed the general structure of the poem is the following: from the third
to the eighth verses, and from the sixteenth to the twenty-seventh verses, the
poet describes features of the present moment, such as the interior and exterior
of the house, the food that has been cooked. Furthermore, from the ninth to the
fifteenth verses, the poet refers to the ideal world of the poet as well as the
unconditional commitment of the poet to it. The ultimate goal is to remind the
poet that the relentless and unconditional pursuit of the ideal world is
untenable and will only lead to the realization that the real world is the only
one that we all have.
The poet uses a woman who feels lonely and frustrated because
her poet husband values more pursuing his artistic ideals than spending time
with her and the children. This
idea is well conveyed in the first verse: “Again, husband: how many hours have
you spent with your poems?” (1). Then, in the third and fourth verses, “she”
indicates that “the sun is bleeding outside our kitchen” (3) and “geese are
arrowing from the lake” (4), intending to awaken the poet lost in his world to
the beauty of the surrounding environment. Then, from the fifth to the eighth
verses, the “woman” goes on to describe in minute details the food she has
prepared. She talks about“sectioned and salted” (6), “sprinkled with minced
ginger, crushed peppers,”(7), “a knot of lemongrass, all steaming in tinfoil” to
trigger the appetite of the “husband” so that he may turn his attention away
from his poems. Then, she cites him: “Still too much beauty to speak of, you
utter, tapping” (9), “at your typewriter. One more couplet for love…” (10), “one
more image of war…one more word to resurrect the dead…” Her emphasis on abstract
concepts such as“love”, “war”, and “the dead” are aimed at contrasting even more
the illusory world contemplated by the poet and the real world. The “woman” then
asks another rhetorical question, “Do you know that letting go is a kind of
beauty?”(12), still to confront the poet. She recalls “a poem you once recited
to our children.” (13), she mentions “it was not yours, but you wept anyway. You
always” (14) “weep for the things that will never be yours”. Her use of“always”
and “never” in the same sentence highlight further the vanity of the poet’s
pursuit. In the following lines, the “woman” gives up by saying “tell you what,
the children and I will eat alone.” (16), “I will take the fish head now, the
Sweetest meat” (17), “yes, just like the wife in that poem”. It is interesting
to note that she indicates precisely what parts of the food she is taking, “the
fish head” and “the sweetest meat”, and insists that all that is happening
“now”; these artifacts may be another desperate attempt to lure the husband away
from his poems. In the remaining verses, the “woman” challenges the husband poet
to describe their own house so that it will be remembered. She says “write a
poem about this house. Write about” (20), “locked windows and doors. About a man
standing” (21), “outside, turning away, stumbling ghostlike”(22). The final
words of the “woman” express well her hope that the poet will eventually come to
appreciate the simple beauty and pleasures of real life. She says “…when words
cannot” (25), “express that loss all you poets speak of,”(26), “perhaps then,
darling, you’ll think of us.” (27).
Course objective reinforced:
Explicating this poem provided a great incentive for me to learn about several literary words and become more knowledgeable about the various school of literary criticism. In that respect, it led me to master the use of literary vocabulary and the reference to various schools of criticism in discussions.
(from The Dead I Know), by Burlee
Vang
Again, husband: how many hours have you
spent with your poems? Come sit
beside us now.
Look, the sun is bleeding outside our kitchen,
geese are arrowing from the lake
where you caught that trout. I’ve
prepared it now
the way you love: sectioned & salted,
sprinkled with minced ginger, crushed peppers,
a knot of lemongrass, all
steaming in tinfoil.
Still too much beauty
to speak of, you utter, tapping
at your typewriter. One more couplet for love…
one more image of
war…one more word to resurrect the dead…
Do you know that letting go is
a kind of beauty?
I recall a poem you once recited to our children.
It was not yours, but
you wept anyway. You always
weep for the things that will never be yours.
Tell you what, the children and I will eat alone.
I will take the fish
head now, the sweetest meat--
yes, just like the wife in that
poem.
Remembrance, too, is a kind of beauty. So listen:
write a poem about this
house. Write about
locked windows & doors. About a man standing
outside, turning away, stumbling ghostlike
through ancient pines. A trout
skull is rattling
in his tin pail. Don’t forget the snow
or the winding road, & when words cannot
express that loss all you
poets speak of,
perhaps then, darling, you’ll think of us.
Poetry explication:
This poem dramatizes the conflict between the two worlds of the
poet: the perfect but illusive world of the ideals and the imperfect but
material world of physical pleasures.
Indeed the general structure of the poem is the following: from the third
to the eighth verses, and from the sixteenth to the twenty-seventh verses, the
poet describes features of the present moment, such as the interior and exterior
of the house, the food that has been cooked. Furthermore, from the ninth to the
fifteenth verses, the poet refers to the ideal world of the poet as well as the
unconditional commitment of the poet to it. The ultimate goal is to remind the
poet that the relentless and unconditional pursuit of the ideal world is
untenable and will only lead to the realization that the real world is the only
one that we all have.
The poet uses a woman who feels lonely and frustrated because
her poet husband values more pursuing his artistic ideals than spending time
with her and the children. This
idea is well conveyed in the first verse: “Again, husband: how many hours have
you spent with your poems?” (1). Then, in the third and fourth verses, “she”
indicates that “the sun is bleeding outside our kitchen” (3) and “geese are
arrowing from the lake” (4), intending to awaken the poet lost in his world to
the beauty of the surrounding environment. Then, from the fifth to the eighth
verses, the “woman” goes on to describe in minute details the food she has
prepared. She talks about“sectioned and salted” (6), “sprinkled with minced
ginger, crushed peppers,”(7), “a knot of lemongrass, all steaming in tinfoil” to
trigger the appetite of the “husband” so that he may turn his attention away
from his poems. Then, she cites him: “Still too much beauty to speak of, you
utter, tapping” (9), “at your typewriter. One more couplet for love…” (10), “one
more image of war…one more word to resurrect the dead…” Her emphasis on abstract
concepts such as“love”, “war”, and “the dead” are aimed at contrasting even more
the illusory world contemplated by the poet and the real world. The “woman” then
asks another rhetorical question, “Do you know that letting go is a kind of
beauty?”(12), still to confront the poet. She recalls “a poem you once recited
to our children.” (13), she mentions “it was not yours, but you wept anyway. You
always” (14) “weep for the things that will never be yours”. Her use of“always”
and “never” in the same sentence highlight further the vanity of the poet’s
pursuit. In the following lines, the “woman” gives up by saying “tell you what,
the children and I will eat alone.” (16), “I will take the fish head now, the
Sweetest meat” (17), “yes, just like the wife in that poem”. It is interesting
to note that she indicates precisely what parts of the food she is taking, “the
fish head” and “the sweetest meat”, and insists that all that is happening
“now”; these artifacts may be another desperate attempt to lure the husband away
from his poems. In the remaining verses, the “woman” challenges the husband poet
to describe their own house so that it will be remembered. She says “write a
poem about this house. Write about” (20), “locked windows and doors. About a man
standing” (21), “outside, turning away, stumbling ghostlike”(22). The final
words of the “woman” express well her hope that the poet will eventually come to
appreciate the simple beauty and pleasures of real life. She says “…when words
cannot” (25), “express that loss all you poets speak of,”(26), “perhaps then,
darling, you’ll think of us.” (27).
Course objective reinforced:
Explicating this poem provided a great incentive for me to learn about several literary words and become more knowledgeable about the various school of literary criticism. In that respect, it led me to master the use of literary vocabulary and the reference to various schools of criticism in discussions.