Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Biography
- Born in San Francisco on March 26, 1874.
- Moved to New England at the age of 11.
- Became interested in reading and writing poetry during his high school years in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
- Went to Dartmouth College in 1892, and later at Harvard.
- Never got a formal degree.
- His first professional poem was "My Butterfly"
- Was published on November 8, 1894, in the New York newspaper The Independent.
- One of his major inspirations was his wife, Elinor Miriam White.
- When he moved to England, he became close friends with a poet, Ezra Pound, who helped him with him work.
- When he returned to the US in 1915, he had published two full collections (A Boy's Will and North of Boston).
- By the 1920's, he was the most celebrated Poet in America.
- Much of his work is associated with the landscape and life of New England.
- Also, a lot of his work shows irony.
- Lived and taught for many years in Massachusetts and Vermont.
- Frost died in Boston on January 29, 1963.
Reflection
When I first read this poem, my immediate reaction was realizing how descriptive the writing was. This poem can be interpreted in many ways. When I read it, I saw it as conveying the message that good things can only stay for so long. In this case, "Nature's first green is gold" can be explaining how the first signs of something good are incredibly valuable, no matter how small they are. However, when one achieves something good, the hardest thing is to keep it and hold on to it. As the poem continues, the line "Then leaf subsides to leaf" can be seen as everything in nature has turned to green, and that first green leaf, that gold, is no longer unique and just starts to blend in with its new green surrounding. This relates to how something exciting can be so different and special, but after a little while, it gets old and is no longer as valuable. most noticeable int this poem is the imagery that Frost uses, which paints a vivid image in the reader's mind. Also, there is no rhyme, and the sentences are short, putting the point right across rather than using 10 lines to make one sentence.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Loyal by William Matthews
POEM
They gave him an overdose
of anesthetic, and its fog
shut down his heart in seconds.
I tried to hold him, but he was
somewhere else. For so much love
one of the principals is missing,
it's no wonder we confuse love
with longing. Oh I was thick
with both. I wanted my dog
to live forever and while I was
working on impossibilities
I wanted to live forever, too.
I wanted company and to be alone.
I wanted to know how they trash
a stiff ninety-five-pound dog
and I paid them to do it
and not tell me. What else?
I wanted a letter of apology
delivered by decrepit hand,
by someone shattered for each time
I'd had to eat pure pain. I wanted
to weep, not "like a baby,"
in gulps and breath-stretching
howls, but steadily, like an adult,
according to the fiction
that there is work to be done,
and almost inconsolably.
REFLECTION:
When I first read this poem, I was taken aback by the strong choice of wording and the fact that the situation is extremely relatable. I think the meaning of this poem is that one may want something that is for the best of someone else or a companion. However, this is not always the realistic or possible way to overcome these scenarios. It is a common goal to desire to be loyal towards others, but when the outcome is uncontrollable, in this case the pet had to be put to sleep, there are always going to be regrets. One is always going to continuously think about what they want to happen, rather than what actually had happened, and what is happening. It may also be difficult to get through situations that one definitely does not want to take place, but loyalty is what helps that person get through it. The poet puts their point across by repeating the phrase, “I wanted”. Also, the fact that there is no definite pattern of punctuation makes the reader feel like they are reading a story, rather than a rhythmic poem.
They gave him an overdose
of anesthetic, and its fog
shut down his heart in seconds.
I tried to hold him, but he was
somewhere else. For so much love
one of the principals is missing,
it's no wonder we confuse love
with longing. Oh I was thick
with both. I wanted my dog
to live forever and while I was
working on impossibilities
I wanted to live forever, too.
I wanted company and to be alone.
I wanted to know how they trash
a stiff ninety-five-pound dog
and I paid them to do it
and not tell me. What else?
I wanted a letter of apology
delivered by decrepit hand,
by someone shattered for each time
I'd had to eat pure pain. I wanted
to weep, not "like a baby,"
in gulps and breath-stretching
howls, but steadily, like an adult,
according to the fiction
that there is work to be done,
and almost inconsolably.
REFLECTION:
When I first read this poem, I was taken aback by the strong choice of wording and the fact that the situation is extremely relatable. I think the meaning of this poem is that one may want something that is for the best of someone else or a companion. However, this is not always the realistic or possible way to overcome these scenarios. It is a common goal to desire to be loyal towards others, but when the outcome is uncontrollable, in this case the pet had to be put to sleep, there are always going to be regrets. One is always going to continuously think about what they want to happen, rather than what actually had happened, and what is happening. It may also be difficult to get through situations that one definitely does not want to take place, but loyalty is what helps that person get through it. The poet puts their point across by repeating the phrase, “I wanted”. Also, the fact that there is no definite pattern of punctuation makes the reader feel like they are reading a story, rather than a rhythmic poem.
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